What is dysphagia?

The term dysphagia refers broadly to the concept of swallowing dysfunction or impairment in the swallowing process. Typically when we think of swallowing, we think of the ability to move food and liquid through our mouth, through our throat and down into our esophagus, which is the tube that moves from our throat to our stomach. Dysphagia or difficulty swallowing can happen at any of those points in the swallowing process.