The role of cricopharyngeus muscle in pharyngoesophageal disorders

The cricopharyngeus muscle is generally thought to be responsible for the high pressure zone of the pharyngoesophageal (upper esophageal) sphincter. In this review we critically examined the evidence for the role of the cricopharyngeus muscle in the manometric pharyngoesophageal sphincter. The available studies show disparities between the anatomic location of the cricopharyngeus muscle and the manometric high pressure zone of the pharyngoesophageal sphincter. The cricopharyngeus muscle seems to correspond to the distal 1/3 of the sphineteric high pressure zone and the peak high pressure zone appears to be located proximal to the cricopharyngeus muscle. The discrepancy between the upper high pressure zone and the anatomic cricopharyngeus is important in understanding the role of the cricopharyngeus muscle in the pathophysiology and treatment of clinical disorders of the pharyngoesophageal sphincter.