The pharynx, commonly called the throat, is a passageway that extends from the base of the skull to the level of the sixth cervical vertebra. It serves both the respiratory and digestive systems by receiving air from the nasal cavity and air, food, and water from the oral cavityThe oral cavity is bounded anteriorly by the lips, laterally by the cheeks, superiorly by the hard palate, and inferiorly by the mucosa covering the superior surface of the tongue and the sheet of muscles attaching to the inner side of the mandible..