Jonathan Stark, age 10, of Cleveland, Ohio, for his question:

WHERE IS A PERSON'S GULLET?

Gullet is another word for the esophagus. It is the muscular tube that carries food from the lower part of the pharynx to the stomach. The pharynx is the tube, with its surrounding membrane and muscles, that connects the mouth and nasal passages with the esophagus.

The muscles in the walls of the esophagus contract in a wavelike manner, moving the food downward into the stomach. Mucus produced by glands in its walls helps the movement of the food by keeping the inner surface of the esophagus moist and slippery.

In a human, the esophagus or gullet is about 10 inches long.

The length of the gullet varies greatly in different animals. The one in a fish is very short, but the one in a giraffe is very long.

Birds have a saclike part of the gullet called the crop. The crop serves as a temporary storage place for food.