An esophageal diverticulum refers to a localized protrusion of one or all layers of the esophageal wall, forming a pouch that communicates with the esophageal lumen. Based on its pathogenesis, it can be classified into two types: traction and pulsion diverticula. Traction diverticula involve the outward pulling of all layers of the esophageal wall and are also referred to as true diverticula. Pulsion diverticula involve only the herniation of the mucosal layer and are known as false diverticula. Additionally, esophageal diverticula can be categorized based on their location into pharyngoesophageal diverticula, midesophageal diverticula, and epiphrenic diverticula.
Figure 1 Types of esophageal diverticulum
To be continued