Anatomy

In anatomy, the throat is the part of the neck anterior to the vertebral column. It consists of the pharynx and larynx.

The throat contains various blood vessels, various pharyngeal muscles, the trachea (windpipe) and the esophagus. The hyoid bone is the only bone located in the throat of mammals.

The throat is a vulnerable area in many animals, and correspondingly a typical area for predatory attack. Strangulation and suffocation are forms of an attack sometimes directed at the throat.

Sailing

In sailing, the throat halyard (or throat for short) is a line that raises the end of a gaff nearer to the mast, as opposed to the peak halyard which raises the end further from the mast. Such rigging was normal in classic gaff-rigged schooners and in other ships with fore-and-aft rigging. It is absent in modern bermuda rigs and also in gunter rigs, both of which which raise the sail by means of a single halyard.