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A pressure measurement was taken to study how your esophagus is working.

The oesophagus or gullet connects the mouth with the stomach. It is a muscular tube. The muscles in the oesophagus move food into the stomach. The oesophagus is usually closed by a sphincter muscle at the junction to the stomach. This is meant to prevent the stomach contents and gastric acid being regurgitated into the oesophagus. Only during swallowing does the oesophagus briefly open its sphincter muscle to the stomach.

A tube was introduced through your nose and throat into your esophagus. On this type of tube there is a balloon with sensors at different levels. The balloon can be expanded during the examination. This stretches the wall of the esophagus. The muscles in the esophagus wall can react to this stretching by briefly tensing. The sensors can then show how the pressure changes in the esophagus wall. The measurement provides information, for example about how stiff or loose the esophagus is. The measurement also enables us to study the movements and the direction of the movements of the esophagus.