The throat pharynx is a muscular tube that runs from the back of your nose down into your neck. It contains three sections: the nasopharynx, oropharynx and laryngopharynx, which is also called the hypopharynx. Your throat includes your esophagus, windpipe trachea , voice box larynx , tonsils and epiglottis. Throat cancer refers to cancerous tumors that develop in your throat pharynx , voice box larynx or tonsils. Your throat is a muscular tube that begins behind your nose and ends in your neck. Throat cancer most often begins in the flat cells that line the inside of your throat.
Endocrine - Thyroid Disorders: Wierd sensations in throat/neck
GPs should consider larynx cancer when patients report a persistent sore throat, particularly when combined with other seemingly low-level symptoms. A persistent sore throat combined with shortness of breath, problems swallowing or earache is a greater warning sign of laryngeal cancer than hoarseness alone, new research concludes. Led by the University of Exeter, a study of more than patients diagnosed with cancer of the larynx has found more than a five per cent risk of cancer from a persistent sore throat combined with one of these other symptoms. This compares with 2.
Medics will refer to throat cancer as either cancer of the pharynx - or the larynx, which is also known as the voice box. Throat cancer can affect the the nasopharynx - behind the nose, and the oropharynx - the middle part behind the mouth, and the hypopharynx, the bottom part of the mouth and throat. The oropharynx includes the roof of the mouth, the base of the tongue, the tonsils and the side walls of the throat. Oropharyngeal cancer starts inside the part of the throat directly behind the nose - the area which helps people speak and swallow. Other symptoms can include a sore throat, or tongue, earache, difficulty swallowing or moving the mouth and jaw, changes in your voice, bad breath and unexplained weight loss.
Tonsillar cellulitis is a bacterial infection of the tissues around the tonsils. A tonsillar abscess is a collection of pus behind the tonsils. The diagnosis is based on examination of the throat and sometimes the results of imaging studies. See also Introduction to Mouth and Throat Disorders.