What happens during swallowing? How is air kept separate from food in the digestive system?

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Solution

Swallowing is the process in which food passes from the mouth to the stomach through the pharynx. If, somehow, the food goes through the trachea, choking may occur. Glottis is a thin tube-like structure that leads to the trachea or wind pipe. Adjacent to the windpipe lies the food pipe. When we swallow food, the epiglottis covers the glottis so that the food does not enter the windpipe through the glottis.

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