The esophagus, historically also spelled oesophagus, is a tubular, elongated organ of the digestive system which connects the pharynx to the stomach. The esophagus is the organ that food travels through to reach the stomach for further digestion.
The oesophagus begins in the neck, at the level of C6. Here, it is continuous superiorly with the laryngeal part of the pharynx (the laryngopharynx).
It descends downward into the superior mediastinum of the thorax, positioned between the trachea and the vertebral bodies of T1 to T4. It then enters the abdomen via the oesophageal hiatus (an opening in the right crus of the diaphragm) at T10.
The abdominal portion of the oesophagus is approximately 1.25cm long – it terminates by joining the cardiac orifice of the stomach at level of T11.