Impaired oropharyngeal swallow response

What it means

Delay or absence of the swallow response, reflexes triggered by the contact the food bolus makes with the anterior faucial pillars.

In the involuntary pharyngeal phase, the soft palate rises to close the nasopharynx and prevent nasal regurgitations. The hyoid bone rises, bringing the larynx up, while the epiglottis closes the entrance to the larynx. The base of the tongue contacts the pharyngeal wall, at the same time as the hyoid moves forward, coinciding with the relaxation of the cricopharyngeus muscle and the opening of the upper esophageal sphincter.

Rare diseases that can present with this7

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category