The definition of EA is relatively simple; it means an absence of a portion of the esophagus, the muscular tube which connects the back of the mouth to the stomach and allows the swallowing of everything from saliva to food.
The answer to the second question is more difficult because EA is not a single uniform birth defect of the esophagus but, rather, includes a wide spectrum of severity. Babies with EA may range from having only a very short portion missing to being born with almost no esophagus in the chest. The upper pouch typically ends in the neck or upper chest and the lower end arises off the stomach and is of variable length. The diagrams in Figure 1 show the spectrum of abnormalities found in EA.
As can be seen, the missing portion is located in the middle of the esophagus and the gap may be short with the upper or lower esophageal ends close together (Fig. 1 C). Or, a great deal may be missing leaving the ends far apart (Fig. 1 A1, A2, B). In addition, there may be a communication with the airway (usually the trachea) from either the upper or lower pouches (Fig. 1 B, C, D) which is called a tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF).
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