The larynx is the voice-box at the entrance to the trachea in the front of the neck. The larynx is enclosed by cartilages. Below it is supported by a firm ring, the cricoid cartilage, which is the entrance to the trachea proper. The much larger thyroid cartilage is perched on top of the cricoid. It is shaped like a snow-plough, with its two halves widely separated behind and meeting in front to form the Adam's apple. From inside the Adam's apple two fibrous ridges run back; these are the vocal cords. Each cord is attached behind to a small, mobile triangle of cartilage called the arytenoid cartilage. The arytenoids slide on the cricoid, between the two halves of the thyroid cartilage. The cartilages of the larynx are controlled by a complex set of muscles. Research Larynx
Abbreviations
Medicine
Research Larynx