Why does the Adam' s apple go up when swallowing?

The Adam' s apple is a part of Wind pipe, what you can feel in the frontal region of your throat is actually the wind pipe* and not the food pipe.

The food goes into the food pipe and not the wind pipe. The Adam' s apple goes up but it is not the part of the organ into which food goes.

The Adam' s apple actually goes up so as to close the epiglottis which is a flap like structure which covers the wind pipe. It is a form of reflex action which helps to close the wind pipe with the help of epiglottis so as to prevent food from entering it.

*What you feel in the frontal region of your throat is the sound box(Larynx) which is a continuation of your wind pipe(Trachea).

Proof that it is actually the wind pipe and not the food pipe-

It helps to produce souds as sounds are just waves in air which is to say patterns of moving air particles. You can actually feel the vibration of your sound box when you make certain sounds.

You can also feel cartilages which prevents the wind pipe from collapsing when no air is rushing through it.

-Syed Moris

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