Name the sequence that occurs for airway protection during the pharyngeal stage of swallowing (inferior to superior). 

            a.

            b. 

            c. 

            d.  

a. The hyoid bone and larynx move upward and forward.

b. The vocal folds move to the midline.

c. The epiglottis folds backward to protect the airway while the tongue pushes backward and downward into the pharynx in order to propel the bolus down to the esophagus.

d. The soft palate rises.

Step-by-step explanation

Since the instruction specifically states to name the sequence from inferior to superior, I literally arranged the sequence in this manner starting from the hyoid bone which is anatomically inferior compared to the mouth where we can locate the palate. But these events often occur in a rapid and overlapping manner. Just think of this, after you masticate the food in the oral cavity the next thing to be done is to swallow it while protecting the airways because we don't want fragments of food in our airways especially the lungs. So first the soft palate will rise then this will cause both the hyoid bone and larynx to move upward and forward then the vocal folds will move to the midline. After that, the epiglottis will fold backwards to protect the airway (this is our goal), and the tongue will push the food bolus backward and downward to propel it into the pharynx.  

• By the way you can use the sequence that I have here in my explanation. The sequence that I did in the "answer" portion was just to simply follow the instruction that was provided, after all I strongly believe that instruction is always part of the exam/quiz/assignment.