The pharynx is the tube that starts at the back of your mouth (and the back of your nose) and then divides: one way for food, one way for air. Food should go down toward the stomach; air should go toward the lungs. It is a passage, not a thing you can hold in your hand. Everyday English just says the back of the throat; pharynx is the body-science and doctor word. Food, drink, and air all move through it. Though actually, students smash it into larynx, which sits next door but is not the same. The larynx is the voice box, further down, where the voice is made. If you swallow, the pharynx is doing a lot of the work; if you speak, the larynx is. You cannot see the whole pharynx in a mirror — only the back wall of the mouth part. Doctors use a light, and sometimes a small camera, when they need the rest.