Your epiglottis is a small, leaf-shaped sheet of elastic cartilage that protects your larynx (voice box) and helps you swallow. Your larynx is a hollow tube that helps move air from your nose and mouth to your lungs. It’s located at the upper opening of your trachea (windpipe), which is the passageway to your lungs.

Your larynx is open at the top so air can move through it to your trachea. When you swallow, however, your epiglottis moves to cover the top of your larynx. Like a roadblock, your epiglottis prevents traffic (food and fluid) from using a specific road (your larynx) and moves traffic to another road (your esophagus).