What is "dysphagia"

Dysphagia \Dys*pha"gi*a\, Dysphagy \Dys"pha*gy\, n. [NL. dysphagia, fr. Gr. dys- ill, hard + ? to eat.] (Med.) Difficulty in swallowing. ||

n. difficulty in swallowing

n. condition in which swallowing is difficult or painful

Dysphagia is the medical term for the symptom of difficulty in swallowing. Although classified under "symptoms and signs" in ICD-10, the term is sometimes used as a condition in its own right. Sufferers are sometimes unaware of their dysphagia.

The word is derived from the Greek dys meaning bad or disordered, and the root phag- meaning "eat". It may be a sensation that suggests difficulty in the passage of solids or liquids from the mouth to the stomach, a lack of pharyngeal sensation, or various other inadequacies of the swallowing mechanism. Dysphagia is distinguished from other symptoms including odynophagia, which is defined as painful swallowing, and globus, which is the sensation of a lump in the throat. A psychogenic dysphagia is known as phagophobia.