• The anatomic relationship between structures in the oral cavity and pharynx is different than that in adults. The tongue fills the oral cavity, the fat pads in the cheeks narrow the oral cavity laterally, and the hyoid bone and larynx are much higher than in adults, which provides more protection of the airway. The velum usually hangs lower, with the uvula often resting inside the epiglottis.
• When sucking from a nipple, the infant repeatedly pumps the tongue to express milk from the nipple with each pump collecting liquid at the faucial arches or in the valleculae. Each infant tends to use a pattern of specific number of tongue pumps. Normal infants use from 2 to 7 tongue pumps.
• When a bolus of adequate size has been formed, the pharyngeal swallow triggers, which is similar to that of an adult.
• The subject in this segment is a 6 month old male infant. The videofluoroscopy was done due to a suspected swallowing disorder. The infant's swallowing was in fact normal. Because swallowing was normal, it was recommended that the child be assessed for a possible reflux disorder.

Bottle feeding - breast milk

• Note the different anatomic relationship between structures in the oral cavity and pharynx as described above.
• Two discreet segments can be viewed:
  • Oral Phase
    • 3 tongue pumps prior to initiation of the pharyngeal stage movie
  • Pharyngeal Phase

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Special thanks to St.Mary's/Duluth Clinic (SMDC) Radiology and Speech Pathology departments for providing the videofluroscopy studies of the normal adult.