Oesophagus. Light micrograph of a cross-section through the human oesophagus. The oesophagus forms a tube which passes food from the mouth to the stom

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Oesophagus. Light micrograph of a cross-section through the human oesophagus. The oesophagus forms a tube which passes food from the mouth to the stomach. Its lumen (inner cavity, white) is lined by a thick, protective stratified squamous epithelium (purple). This is folded to allow the wall to stretch. Beneath the epithelium lies a lamina propria layer (blue). Beneath the lamina propria are two thick layers of muscle: an inner circular muscle layer (dark purple), and an outer layer of longitudinal muscle (lighter). These muscle layers cause peristaltic contractions to move food along to the stomach. Magnification unknown.

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Size: 5046px × 3531px
Photo credit: © BIOPHOTO ASSOCIATES/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: anatomy, body, digestion, digestive, epithelium, esophagus, gut, human, light, micrograph, muscle, oesophagus, system