Question

List out the sphincter muscles of the food canal and give a brief description on each of them.

Answer 1

There are major 5 sphincters that are present in the food canal:-

a) Esophageal sphincter - allows entry of bolus into the oesophagus and reduces the back flow from oesophagus to pharynx.

b) Cardiac sphincter - It is present where oesophagus meets the stomach.

c) Pyloric sphincter - It is present at the opening of called pylorus, located at the connection between stomach and small intestine. It allows only small quantities of food into duodenum at one time.

d) Anal sphincter - It is located at the anus and partly control the release of waste out of the body.

e) Ileo-ceacal valve - It is a sphincter muscle situated at the junction of small intestine and large intestine. It limits the reflux of colonic content into the ileum.