Glossary of Terms in Otolaryngology

Killian-Jamieson Area

  • The Killian-Jamieson area is an area of natural weakness in the upper esophagus. It is the site of origin of a rare esophageal diverticulum called a Killian-Jamieson diverticulum.1
  • Boundaries of the Killian-Jamieson area:
    • Superior: oblique fibres of the cricopharyngeus
    • Inferior: transverse fibres of the cricopharyngeus
  • The Killian-Jamieson area is usually described in conjunction with Killian’s Triangle (the site of origin of the more common Zenker’s diverticulum) and Laimer’s triangle (the site of origin of a Laimer’s diverticulum). 2
    • Killian’s Triangle is bounded superiorly by the lower border of the inferior constrictor and inferiorly by the cricopharyngeus.
    • Laimer’s triangle is bounded superiorly by the cricopharyngeus and inferiorly by the circular muscle fibres of the upper esophagus.

Esophageal diverticula. Killian's triangle, the Killian-Jamieson area, and Laimer's triangle. A diverticulum that arises from Killian's triangle is called a Zenker's diverticulum

  1. Westrin, Karl Magnus, Saim Ergün And, and Bengt Carlsöö. “Zenker’s diverticulum–a historical review and trends in therapy.” Acta oto-laryngologica 116.3 (1996): 351-360. ↩

  2. Zundel, Natan, et al., eds. Benign Esophageal Disease: Modern Surgical Approaches and Techniques. Springer Nature, 2021. ↩

Last updated December 17, 2022
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