Surgical Anatomy of the Esophagus in Cats and Removal of Esophageal Foreign Bodies (Sneeze Spine) Using Laryngoscope Technique

The anatomy of the esophagus was previously studied in most mammals. The esophagus was composed of three parts in the cat as typical anatomical animals: cervical, thoracic, and abdominal [1-3]. While in canine the esophagus was consisted of the upper esophageal sphincter, the tubular esophagus, and the lower esophageal sphincter [4]. In canine the first part of esophagus lies dorsal to the trachea but deviates to the left in the middle of the neck and maintains this position through the thoracic inlet [3]. Bremner and Goldberg [5,6] described that, the presence of the transverse esophageal folds is originally a normal anatomic feature of the cat′s esophagus while [7] added that the transverse esophageal folds fine in the distal esophagus.