Anatomy

     The nasopharynx and pharynx. I have had a lot of questions from friends and family about just what is the nasopharynx?   I reviewed my anatomy books and googled a few sites.  I was disappointed in what little respect this incredible little organ receives.  So I am going to do my best to clear things up.  I will start with the lips and the nose.
    The lips. Think of all the special times the lips have been a part of many of our most memorable moments.  The lips help us speak, but I view them as a sensory organ.  The sense of touch has been with us since birth (and probably in utero).  We quickly add the oral phase to our lives.  One of the first things a baby does is grab something and,  yep, right to the mouth.  Then at sixteen ( for me my first girlfriend-type kiss was third grade)  we begin showing our love or lust with a kiss.  Remember your REAL first tender kiss? Soft, warm, moist. Did it make your lips tingle?
     Just behind the lips lies the tongue.  Another sensory organ.  An organ critical for taste.  Critical for eating, and speaking.  An organ that sticks well to cold metal.  I have some of my cancer at the very base of my tongue.
      The next area is at the roof of the mouth, the hard and soft palate.  You can feel the hard palate with the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth.  This feels hard because there is a bone under there. As you walk your tongue towards the back of your throat you will feel it get soft.  This is the beginning of the soft palate.  That's the junction of the hard and soft palate.  This is also where the nasopharynx connects to the oropharnynx .
      The nasoparnynx starts at the nose.  Although, cute, button-like, or a snoz like mine, it has two holes in it.  We can suck air into the nose where we have an incredible set of nerves that give us this gift of smell, and interacts with taste as well.   Wow.  Smell a glass of wine. My daughter can pick out minute smells in different wines.  I know she can cause she says, "Close your eyes and see if you can smell charcoal."  OMG, I can.  "See if you can smell wet grass?"  Yes a hint.  "What else can you smell?"  It takes practice.  We smell flowers. oils, foods, spices, the earth, everything.   This also takes practice.  It also allows us to identfy things so we don't have to taste them.  Three guys walking down the street,  they stop at some doggy poo.  Looks like poo one says,  smells like poo, says another.   OK , better not step in it.   
     The junction of the soft and hard palate leads to the the throat.  The throat houses your tonsils, uvula, epiglotis, vocal cords  and trachea. This part is not too sexy, unless you have a voice like Frank Sinatra.  Mine sounds like a heard of geese farts flying north.
     So, I hope that helps,  I have cancer,  but it is getting smaller.  I can tell since my lymph nodes in my neck are much reduced.  The cancer is at the base of my tongue, in the back of my throat and it extends to the base of my skull at the foramen magnum.
     There is a video on you tube showing how complex the swallowing mechanism is.  I found it fancinating and it is only a few minutes.  Check it out and you will be amazed at what you can learn in just a few minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqMCzuIiPaM.  For anybody but me, it may be boring.  It is just something we do and we have done it millions and millions of times.
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Be mindful of your swallow,  your senses associated with your lips, smell and taste.  Take a little time during this automatic response and be grateful it is so easy and wonderful.  Life is so grand and wonderful because we have this ability.  Namaste