A potato is bad when it has shriveled up or is soft. When it is really bad, it will be mushy. A potato is bad when it has shriveled up or is soft. When it is really bad, it will be mushy.
Food and liquid both go down the esophagus to the stomach, while air goes down the windpipe or bronchial tubes to the lungs. Both the esophagus and windpipe are connected. Occasionally, a small amount of food or liquid may start to go down the windpipe. Typical involuntary responses would include gagging, coughing, and choking. Difficulty in coughing up the food or liquid may cause a person to panic, while food lodged in the bronchial valve may quickly cause unconsciousness caused by the person being unable to cough out blockage, leading to a lack of of oxygen to the brain.
Next, the tongue pushes the food from the mouth to the throat (pharynx). The voice box (larynx) closes so no food can enter the breathing passages or lungs. Finally, a special muscle called a sphincter, located where the throat and esophagus join, opens so the food can move into the esophagus. Esophageal phase of swallowing. The esophagus is a tube-like organ that connects the mouth and throat with the stomach. At each end, the tube is closed by the contraction of special muscles called sphincters. The esophagus and sphincter muscles are designed to move what is swallowed to the stomach. They also prevent stomach contents from moving back up into the esophagus and breathing passages. Food that enters the esophagus is squeezed down to the stomach by a special muscle contraction called peristalsis.