DYSPHAGIA

difficulty in swallowing, caused by lesions or mechanical obstruction of the upper digestive tract or by disturbances in the nervous or muscular control of swallowing. Obstruction of the esophagus is the most common cause of dysphagia; often there is pain in swallowing, and the dysphagia is usually a result of stricture, cancerous or benign growths, or the presence of foreign bodies.