ABSTRACT
Achalasia was first described by Willis in 1672. He treated the patient by fashioning a rod of a whale bone with a sponge on the end with which the patient was able to force food into his stomach. In 1877 Zenker and von Ziemssen, and in 1884 Mackenzie, suggested that achalasia was due to diminished contractile power of the esophageal musculature. In 1888 Meltzer and Mikulicz independently postulated that spasmodic contraction of the cardiac sphincter was the etiologic factor. In the same year, Einhorn proposed that the condition was due to failure of relaxation of the cardia on swallowing.
