Swallowing Sounds

Swallowing Sounds, acoustic phenomena occurring during the act of swallowing, caused by the movement of food and air from the oral cavity into the esophagus and from the esophagus into the stomach. They are heard to the left of the spine, to the left of the trachea, and in the angle between the xiphoid process and the left costal arch. To the left of the trachea and parallel to the spine, a clear, gurgling sound is heard during swallowing. In strictures of the esophagus of various etiologies, this sound ceases to be audible below the site of stricture. To the left of the xiphoid process, the swallowing sounds of the stomach are heard: the "first" (according to Ewald), the "splash sound" ("Durchspritzgerausch", according to Meltzer), and the "second", the "propulsion sound". The first, which follows immediately after swallowing, is a short hissing sound that occurs when the food mass passes through the open cardia and, according to Meltzer, indicates insufficiency of the latter. The second, which is longer, occurs 6-7 seconds after swallowing, when the food mass and air are propelled by contraction of the lower part of the esophagus through a not fully open cardia. It is almost constant with an empty stomach-the presence of the first sound excludes it. In strictures of the cardia, it is absent or delayed, and in paralysis of the esophagus, it is also delayed and more prolonged. The diagnostic value of swallowing sounds is insignificant with the modern achievements of radiology and esophagoscopy.