What Is The Function Of The Epiglottis In Human Body?

The epiglottis is situated at the opening to the larynx. One of the functions of the epiglottis is to contribute a sense of taste to the human body, as there are taste buds situated on this mucous membrane. It also assists with breathing and is one of nine different vital bodily parts that allow us to speak, comprising the voice box. The epiglottis is situated in the pharynx. If you’ve ever heard the term ‘glottal stop’, which is used in some languages to pronounce words, this sound is made possible thanks to the epiglottis. The correct pronunciation of words such as ‘al Qaeda’ can only be achieved due to the sounds created when the epiglottis is exercised properly.

The epiglottis is also partially responsible for providing us with the ability to have a gag reflex. Although there used to be a risk of epiglottisis in young children who were growing up (where these glands begin to swell up and cause difficulty breathing), vaccinations and other forms of immunisation have been developed which eliminate this problem altogether. This has mainly been the problem in third-world countries where healthcare has been restricted. Now, the condition is rare, in addition to other infections which have been related to the epiglottis.

In this Wikipedia article, by scrolling down to the bottom, you will be able to see pictures of the epiglottis in people of different ages. As you can imagine, the size and appearance of the epiglottis in a two-year-old will be drastically different to that of an adult.

It prevents food from entering the lungs and air entering the stomach

The epiglottis is a thin lid-like flap of cartilage tissue that is attached to the root of the tongue. It is situated in front behind the tongue and in front of the entrance to the larynx (voice box).

When resting, the epiglottis allows air to pass through the larynx and into the rest of the respiratory system. When swallowing, it covers the entrance to the larynx to prevent food and drink from entering the windpipe.

If both the air passage and the food passage were open when someone swallowed, air could enter the stomach and food could enter the lungs. The epiglottis is the way that this is prevented from happening, basically acting like a lid every time we swallow.

The function of the epiglottis is to prevent food and drink from falling down the airway.

It blocks off food and water (liquid) from entering the trachea.  It also allows air to pass through the pharynx into the rest of the respiratory system. It basically prevent food and water from going into the lungs.

The epiglottis is the valve of cartilage that covers the larynx when you eat. Without it your food would go down the larynx into the lungs instead of going down the esophagus into the stomach. This could result in choking, serious infections, and maybe even death.

To cover the trachea when food is being swallowed

It's function is to protect the vocal cords during swallowing.

It is a flap attached the the roof of the mouth and when you swallow it blocks off the windpipe so that a liquid or a food substance doesnt get in it, so you won't chock

It is a cartilage which allows food to pass and stop the passage of air to the lungs during respiration

The epiglottis stucture and its complex mechanism is the reason creatures took so many millions of years to evolve. At first it evolved as just a flap and the food fell through choking the creatures and they all died. Then it evolved as a cartilage, but the food stuck to it and caused choking and they all died.  Finally it evolved with a mucous membrane over cartilage and that was great, except that the wiring got mixed up due to a bad mutation causing the automatic swallowing fuction to work everytime our ancestors eyes blinked.  Tiny dinosaurs known as Petitious-Lucious-Dino-Africanus-Saurus quickly learned that by offering our dumb ancestors food which they quickly accepted, and then poking them in the eye, caused them to choke to death, and become a nice fresh meal. So they all died. Then we evolved with our swallowing epiglottis wired to both our conscious brain, and our separate unconscious brain, so we could swallow willfully, and swallow (gulp) when stressed from telling a lie about evolution; unconsciously.  And of course we all lived happily ever after.

The epiglottis is used to close off the your air way when you swallow so that you don't choke every time you eat or drowned every time you drink

Its stops food from entering respiratory system.

The function of the epiglottis is to prevent the food going into the airway that goes into lungs.

Allow oxygen to get to respiratory system

It is to prevent food substances from entering the throat.

Name the vein that has oxygenated blood.

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