The pharynx is the mucous membrane-lined portion of the airway between the base of the skull and the esophagus and is subdivided as follows:

• Nasopharynx, also known as the rhino-pharynx, post-nasal space, is the muscular tube from the nares, including the posterior nasal cavity, divided from the oropharynx by the palate and lining the skull base superiorly
• The oro-pharynx connects the naso and hypopharynx. It is the region between the palate and the hyoid bone, anteriorly divided from the oral cavity by the tonsillar arch
• The hypopharynx connects the oropharynx to the esophagus and the larynx, the region of pharynx below the hyoid bone.

The larynx is the portion of the airway between the pharynx and the trachea, contains the organs for the production of speech. Formed of a cartilaginous skeleton of nine cartilages, it includes the important organs of the epiglottis and the vocal folds (vocal cords) which are the opening to the glottis.