Epiglottis

At the boundary between your mouth and the inside of your body sits a small, almost forgotten organ. A thin cartilage in the shape of a leaf — movable, light, precise. It has a single task, and that task determines your life with every bite and every breath: it guides what belongs in the esophagus to the back — and keeps the trachea clear. Every time you swallow, it folds over the opening to your lungs like a tiny flap. Every time you breathe, it releases the path again.