Canonical Question
Procedure – Tubes
Master answer
Cartilages
- Unpaired
- Thyroid cartilage – Level of C4~5
- Cricoid cartilage
- Epiglottis
- Paired
- Arytenoid
- Cuneiform
- Corniculate
Muscles
- Intrinsic
- Cricothyroid
- Originates in cricoid cartilage and inserts into thyroid
- Tenses vocal cords and elevates voice
- Thyroarytenoid
- Originates in thyroid cartilage and inserts into arytenoid cartilage
- Relaxes vocal cords and depresses voice
- Posterior cricoarytenoid
- Abducts the vocal cords
- Lateral cricoarytenoid
- Adducts the vocal cords
- Oblique and transverse arytenoids
- Adducts the vocal cords
- Cricothyroid
- Extrinsic
- Strap muscles
Innervation
Sensory
- Internal branch of superior laryngeal nerve
Motor
- Cricothyroid – External branch of the superior laryngeal nerve
- All other intrinsic muscles – Recurrent laryngeal nerve
Blood supply
- Superior laryngean artery (branch of external carotid)
- Inferior laryngeal artery (branch of thyrocervical trunk from subclavian artery)
Associations
- The thyroid glands lie inferolateral to the larynx (lateral to the cricoid, the isthmus is inferior to the cricoid)
- The oesophagus, anterior longitudinal ligament, cervical vertebrae lies posterior to the larynx
- The brachiocephalic trunk may arch superiorly close to the cricothyroid membrane in an anatomical variant
Sakurai 2016
Exam appearances
| Exam | Exact wording | Relationship | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015A Q24 | Outline the anatomy of the larynx | historical_member | — |
| 2020B Q14 | Describe the anatomy of the larynx. | historical_member | — |
| 2023B Q16 | Outline the anatomy of the larynx. | historical_member | — |