A Further Experimental Contribution to the Knowledge of the Mechanism of Deglutition

I t is now about seventeen years since Kronecker and myself* advanced the view that in the act of deglutition liquids and semisolids are not carried down the (esophagus by the slow process of peristalsis, but are thrown down with great rapidity by the energetic contractions of the mylo-hyoid muscles especially. We supported this view, first, by experimental p~oofs obtained by the graphic method. A rubber balloon which was placed in the (esophagus recorded on a rotating drum two impressions during each single, act of deglutition; a short one at the very beginning of the act, and a longer one which appeared the later the deeper the balloon was located within the oesophagus. There could be no doubt that the second impression was brought about by the peristaltic contractions of the (esophagus, while we had abundant reasons to interpret the first impression as coming from the rapid passing of the liquid. But to obtain a still more striking proof of the rapidity with which the swallowed mass is usually shot down, another experiment was