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Dysphagia means difficulty swallowing. It can involve preparation and transfer of material in the mouth, passage through the pharynx or movement down the oesophagus. These stages require coordinated muscle activity, sensation and neural control. Dysphagia names a functional difficulty rather than one unique disease or anatomical lesion. ^[ref]

Swallowing also protects the airway: food transport and temporary closure of the breathing passage must be coordinated. A delay in initiating the response and a mechanical obstruction can both disrupt swallowing through different mechanisms. Difficulty moving a bolus, pain during swallowing and entry into the airway are related observations but should not be treated as identical definitions.

A speech-language pathologist applies knowledge about communication and swallowing to assessment, intervention and research. The work can include language disorder, speech production or dysphagia, with the relevant tasks depending on the person and setting. Comparing comprehension, production and functional communication prevents one test score from being treated as a complete description of everyday communication. Professional titles and service arrangements vary between jurisdictions. ^[ref]