Esophageal Dysphagia Part 1: Anatomy, Physiology, and Assessment

Video Runtime: 49 Minutes; Learning Assessment Time: 28 Minutes

This course is the first of five courses designed to assist clinicians in becoming informed dysphagia team members, allowing them to engage with gastroenterologists evaluating and treating esophageal dysfunction that leads to dysphagia.

Traditionally, dysphagia management has been dichotomized into oropharyngeal and esophageal phases. However, increasingly we recognize the interdependence and interrelationships that exist within the aerodigestive system. Professional education has been discipline-specific, with little emphasis on the esophageal aspects of swallowing in speech-language pathology (SLP) training. In a health system that values accurate and timely assessment and treatment, SLPs can serve a vital collaborative role in identifying signs and symptoms of esophageal disorders when this practice gap is closed.

Mastery of this webinar content will aid clinicians in identifying normal esophageal structure and function. Clinicians will have a working knowledge of instrumental esophageal testing and incorporate the findings into a patient’s swallowing assessment. Finally, it will assist clinicians in structuring their swallowing assessment to include history-taking that may identify signs of esophageal dysfunction that lead to dysphagia.

Learning Objectives

• Attribute a rationale to expanding dysphagia assessment to include all domains of swallowing
• Distinguish key components of normal esophageal anatomy and physiology
• Categorize clinical characteristics of esophageal dysphagia to improve history-taking
• Analyze the purposes and significance of the results of the four common instrumental assessments of the esophagus
• Integrate clinical and instrumental findings in a case study to formulate a plan of care