As described earlier, initially the esophagus is very short but elongates later when the stomach descends to its final location in the abdominal cavity. Failure of descent of the stomach to its proper position leads to the production of a short esophagus. This condition is associated with herniation of the stomach into the thorax through the esophageal hiatus and leads to the condition called congenital hiatal hernia, which has already been discussed in chapter 4.