Dysphagia in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease

Mila Bunijevac^1* & Siniša Maksimovic²

¹JZU Hospital, Sv Vracevi, Srpske vojske 53 Bijeljina, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina
²Faculty of Medicine, Banja Luka, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Dr. Mila Bunijevac, JZU Hospital, Sv Vracevi, Srpske vojske 53 Bijeljina, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Keywords: Ingestion; Dysphagia; Parkinson’s Disease; Treatment

Abstract

Swallowing is the process of passing solid food or fluid through the oral cavity, pharynx and esophagus to the stomach.
The ingestion process consists of three phases: the oral, pharyngeal (oropharyngeal) and esopharyngeal phases. The oral phase is the willing phase and it represents the transfer of the bolus from the oral cavity to the oropharynx. The pharyngeal and esopharyngeal phases are reflexes. By pharyngeal phase, the bolus is transmitted from the oropharynx to the upper esophagus, and the esophageal food travels through the esophagus to the stomach [1].
The bolus should undergo an inverted “L” pathway and should not enter the nasopharyngeal proctor or airway along this path. The larynx plays an important role in this process, whose anatomical structure prevents food aspiration during the ingestion process [2].

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