Mouth, nose and throat. Artwork of a vertical cross-section through the human face and neck seen from the side. At top is the nasal cavity (red), an air passage that connects with the top of the throat (pharynx). The nasal cavity is separated from the oral cavity by the hard (front, yellow) and soft (back, red) palate. The oral cavity is dominated by the tongue (red, centre left). Inhaled air is filtered, warmed and moistened by the mucous membrane of the nasal cavity and passes through the pharynx to the trachea (windpipe, left). Behind the trachea is the oesophagus, which carries food to the stomach to be digested.