INFLUENCE OF MUCOSAL RECEPTORS ON DEGLUTITIVE REGULATION OF PHARYNGEAL AND UPPER ESOPHAGEAL SPHINCTER FUNCTION

The potential influence of mucosal sensory receptors on the regulation of oral-pharyngeal swallow events was studied in 15 healthy volunteer s using simultaneous videoradiography and manometry. We determined the effects of selective pharyngeal and oral plus pharyngeal anesthesia o n the following temporal and manometric measures in response to liquid and viscous swallows: regional transit and clearance times; motion of hyoid and larynx; upper esophageal sphincter relaxation, opening, and closure; and pharyngeal contraction wave characteristics. Under the i nfluence of mucosal anesthesia no subjects demonstrated aspiration dur ing deglutition. Neither regional transit and clearance times nor phar yngosphincteric coordination was influenced significantly by pharyngea l mucosal anesthesia or oral plus pharyngeal anesthesia. Although midp haryngeal and distal pharyngeal contraction amplitudes were not influe nced by mucosal anesthesia, midpharyngeal contraction wave duration wa s reduced significantly by both pharyngeal (P = 0.02) and oral plus ph aryngeal anesthesia (P = 0.0005). We conclude that 1) neither elicitat ion of the pharyngeal swallow response nor temporal regulation among s wallow events is dependent on mucosal sensory receptors and 2) duratio n of the pharyngeal contraction is influenced by sensory input from th e oral-pharyngeal mucosa.