# Epiglottis: plain-language definition

Canonical: [https://followyourswallow.com/glossary/epiglottis](https://followyourswallow.com/glossary/epiglottis)

The epiglottis is a small leaf-shaped flap of cartilage behind the tongue that folds down over the voice box each time you swallow.

## In plain language

The epiglottis is a thin, flexible flap made of elastic cartilage, the same bendy material as the outer ear. When you are breathing, it stands upright at the back of the tongue so air can move freely into the airway.

When you swallow, several things happen together in about a second. Your voice box lifts, the base of your tongue presses backward, and the epiglottis tips downward. In that folded-down position it covers the opening of the larynx and helps steer what you swallowed off to the sides and down toward the esophagus.

In reports you may see phrases about epiglottic movement or "epiglottic inversion." Inversion is simply the medical word for that downward fold.


## Why a clinician looks at this

The epiglottis does not move on its own; it folds as part of a chain of events during the swallow. Clinicians watch it on the X-ray or camera view to see how that whole sequence is timing out. What they see is one piece of a larger picture your team puts together.

## Sources

- [StatPearls (NCBI Bookshelf): Anatomy, Head and Neck: Larynx Cartilage](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK553185/)


Source checked: 2026-08-07

Clinical review: SLP review in progress

## Safety

This is a general definition, not an interpretation of a person's report. Ask the clinician who performed the study what the term means for that person.