The morning after daylight savings time begins is usually more stressful due to the decreased amount of sleep we get. Which is why we will begin this week of doses with something less taxing…the anatomy of sword swallowing. First of all, did you know that sword swallowers really do swallow swords? There’s no trickery, illusion, or slight of hand here. All it takes is plenty of practice and getting your body to do what it reflexively doesn’t want to. Suppression of the gag reflex is the first thing, followed by learning to flick your epiglottis out of the way with the sword on the way down through your airway and into your esophagus, keeping in mind that your heart nestles right next to it and any wrong doing could potentially cause serious damage. The remainder of the feat requires you to navigate through the lower esophagus and finally into the stomach at which time you must suppress the stomach’s retch reflex. Sounds simple? Continue reading about removing the sword…
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Tags: airway, cute, epiglottis, esophagus, gag, heart, pharynx, reflex, sharp, stomach, sword swallowing, trachea, x-ray
Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.