What are the causes of dysphagia?

●   Local causes in the alimentary canal

●   Local causes outside alimentary canal

●   Distant causes

Local causes in the alimentary canal:

Acute and painful:

Acute inflammation of the mouth

●  Carcinoma posterior 2/3rd tongue

●  Acute tonsillitis, quinsy, acute, laryngitis

●  Acute oesophagitis, reflux oesophagitis, peptic ulcer of esophagus

●  Corrosive injuries by ingestion of corrosive fluids.

●  Foreign body impaction.

Chronic and painless:

●  Laryngeal tuberculosis, laryngeal carcinoma

●  Pharyngeal pouch, pharyngeal carcinoma

Oesophageal causes:

●  Localised muscular spasm: Cardiospasm, Plummer Vinson Syndrome

●  Congenital stricture

Simple structures

●  Corrosion by swallowed poisons

●  Secondary to reflux oesophagitis

●  Schatzki’s ring

●  Tubular strictures

●  Carcinoma esophagus

Local causes outside alimentary canal:

Acute and painful:

●  Acute submandibular sialadenitis

●   Acute cervical lymphadenitis

●  Acute cervical lymphadenitis of neck

●   Acute thyroiditis

●  Acute suppurative pericarditis

●   Acute mediastinitis

Chronic painless:

●   Carcinoma thyroid, thyroid goiter

●   Malignant cervical lymphadenitis

●  Aortic aneurysms

●   Mediastinal tumors

Distant causes of dysphagia:

●   Paralysis of palate, pharynx, vagus nerve, for example diphtheria, lead palsy

●  Hysteric spasm

●  Hydrophobia

●  Tetanus

●  Myasthenia gravis

●  Polio encephalitis