Throat Disorders (Print Version)

Also called: Also called: Pharyngeal disorders

Your throat is a tube that carries food to your esophagus and air to your windpipe and larynx. The technical name for throat is pharynx.

Throat problems are common. You've probably had a sore throat The cause is usually a viral infection, but other causes include allergies, infection with strep bacteria or the upward movement of stomach acids into the esophagus, called gastric reflux.

Other problems that affect the throat include

Tonsillitis - an infection in the tonsils
Pharyngitis - inflammation of the pharynx
Cancers

Most throat problems are minor and go away on their own. Treatments, when needed, depend on the problem.

Start Here

Throat Problems(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/tools/symptom/515.printerview.html

Overviews

Throat Disorders(Merck & Co., Inc.) - http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec19/ch222/ch222a.html?qt=throat&alt=sh

Latest News

Smokers More Likely to Bleed After Throat Surgery(08/22/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_68470.html

Diagnosis/Symptoms

Neck Swelling(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/tools/symptom/514.printerview.html
Strep Throat Test(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/strep/test.html
Throat Problems(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/tools/symptom/515.printerview.html

Treatment

Will Antibiotics Help Your Sore Throat?(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/news/strep051202.html

Specific Conditions

Epiglottitis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/epiglottitis/DS00529/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Hoarseness(American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery) - http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/hoarseness.cfm
Laryngitis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/laryngitis/DS00366/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Peritonsillar Abscess(InteliHealth, Harvard Medical School) - http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/9339/9399.html
Strep Throat(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/strep-throat/DS00260/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Strep Throat(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/strepThroat/

Related Issues

Candidiasis(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/dfbmd/disease_listing/candidiasis_gi.html
Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/glossopharyngeal_neuralgia/glossopharyngeal_neuralgia.htm
Laryngeal Papillomatosis(National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) - http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/laryngeal.asp
Post-Nasal Drip(American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery) - http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/postNasalDrip.cfm
Sore or Irritated Mouth or Throat(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/MBC/content/MBC_6_2x_Sore_or_Irritated_Mouth_or_Throat.asp?sitearea=MBC

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Pharyngeal Diseases(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Pharyngeal+Diseases%22
ClinicalTrials.gov: Laryngitis(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Laryngitis%22

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: The death of George Washington: an end to the controversy? - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18705585&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Correlating the clinical course of recurrent croup with endoscopic findings:... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18646444&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Croup management in Australia and New Zealand: a PREDICT study... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18580704&tool=MedlinePlus
Throat Disorders -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=laryngitis[majr]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Medical Encyclopedia

pharyngitis - http://vsearch.nlm.nih.gov/vivisimo/cgi-bin/query-meta?v:project=medlineplus&binning-state=group%3d%3dMedical%20Encyclopedia&query=pharyngitis

Directories

Find an Otolaryngologist (ENT)(American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery) - http://www.entnet.org//findanentmore.cfm

Organizations

American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery - http://www.entnet.org/
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders - http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/

Children

Croup(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/bacterial_viral/croup.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/infecciones/croup_esp.html
Croup and Your Child(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/children/parents/common/ent/220.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/children/parents/common/ent/220.printerview.html
Epiglottitis(Children's Hospital Boston) - http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site2196/mainpageS2196P0.html
Herpangina(Children's Hospital Boston) - http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site1019/mainpageS1019P0.html
How Can I Tell If a Sore Throat Is a Virus or a More Serious Infection?(American Academy of Pediatrics) - http://www.aap.org/publiced/BK0_SoreThroat.htm
Laryngitis(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/kid/ill_injure/sick/laryngitis.html
Laryngopharyngeal Reflux and Children(American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery) - http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/laryngopharyngealReflux.cfm
Scarlet Fever(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/bacterial_viral/scarlet_fever.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/infecciones/scarlet_fever_esp.html
Scoop on Strep Throat(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/kid/ill_injure/sick/strep_throat.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/kid/en_espanol/enfermadades/strep_throat_esp.html
Strep Screen/Throat Culture(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/bacterial_viral/strep_throat.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/infecciones/strep_throat_esp.html

Teenagers

Strep Throat(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/infections/bacterial_viral/strep_throat.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/teen/en_espanol/infecciones/strep_throat_esp.html

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Head and Neck Cancer - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/headandneckcancer.html
Mouth Disorders - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mouthdisorders.html
Sore Throat - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/sorethroat.html
Speech and Communication Disorders - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/speechandcommunicationdisorders.html
Swallowing Disorders - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/swallowingdisorders.html
Tonsils and Adenoids - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tonsilsandadenoids.html
Voice Disorders - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/voicedisorders.html
Ear, Nose and Throat - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/earnoseandthroat.html
Lungs and Breathing - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/lungsandbreathing.html

The primary NIH organization for research on Throat Disorders is the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders - http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/

Throat Disorders - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/throatdisorders.html