The muscular tube that carries food from the throat to the stomach is the esophagus. It is a fibromuscular organ about 25 centimeters long in a typical adult, running behind the windpipe and heart before passing through the diaphragm to meet the stomach.
Swallowed food does not simply fall downward. Rhythmic muscular waves called peristalsis push the food bolus through the esophagus, even when a person is lying down. A sphincter at the upper end opens during swallowing, while the lower esophageal sphincter helps prevent acidic stomach contents from flowing backward.
The pharynx is the shared passage behind the nose and mouth, but it is not the tube that leads directly to the stomach. The larynx is part of the voice box, and the trachea carries air to the lungs. During swallowing, the epiglottis helps keep food out of the larynx and trachea. In British English, the same organ is spelled “oesophagus.”