Swallowing disorders
Declan Costello, Guri Sandhu in Practical Laryngology, 2015
Advanced Trauma Life Support education teaches us A, B, C – airway, breathing, circulation. In humans, protecting the airway is the ultimate goal and primary function of the larynx. Deglutition that has gone awry may violate the tracheobronchial tree. If there is impairment of laryngeal function, re-mediation may assist airway protection, cough generation and swallow efficiency. Options that are directed at improving airway protection include swallow therapy (teaching strategies for voluntarily closing the airway and holding it closed or elevated for the duration of the swallow), vocal fold medialisation and augmentation (in the clinic or operating room) with or without arytenoid adduction (AA), laryngeal suspension, tracheostomy, laryngotracheal separation and total laryngectomy.
The respiratory system and exercise
John W. Dickinson, James H. Hull in Complete Guide to Respiratory Care in Athletes, 2020
The laryngeal inlet represents a ‘bottleneck’ to airflow and is the last structure where there is common passage of both food and air; the lungs being protected from aspiration via the glottis. The larynx contains the vocal cords, which in conjunction with arytenoid cartilage, are used to produce sound for speech. During normal function these structures do not impact ventilation during exercise. However, in some individuals these structures may function abnormally to restrict the flow of air in and out of the lungs during strenuous exercise. Exercise-induced laryngeal obstruction (EILO) is now recognised to be highly prevalent in adolescent athletes with some studies indicating up to one in ten young athletes may have this condition, causing breathing difficulties during exercise (see Chapter 9).
Head, neck and vertebral column
David Heylings, Stephen Carmichael, Samuel Leinster, Janak Saada, Bari M. Logan, Ralph T. Hutchings in McMinn’s Concise Human Anatomy, 2017
The larynx (voice box) has a framework of cartilages and membranes (Figs.3.40-3.43). The rather pyramidal-shaped arytenoid cartilages, with a vocal and a muscular process at their bases, sit on top of the (posterior) lamina of the cricoid cartilage to make the cricoarytenoid joints, while the inferior horns of the thyroid cartilage make the cricothyroid joints with the sides of the cricoid cartilage. The epiglottic cartilage is covered by mucous membrane to form the epiglottis, and lies anteriorly in the laryngeal inlet from the pharynx. The aryepiglottic folds of mucous membrane and muscle form the lateral boundaries of this inlet, with the arytenoid cartilages and interarytenoid muscles posteriorly. The cavity of the larynx between the inlet and vocal folds (see below) is the vestibule of the larynx. At the cricoid cartilage (level of the C6 vertebra) the larynx becomes continuous with the trachea. Because of the attachment of some pharyngeal muscles (see below) to the larynx, the larynx moves upwards when swallowing.
The laryngoscope and nineteenth-century British understanding of laryngeal movements
Published in Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, 2019
Marjorie Perlman Lorch, Renata Whurr
George Johnson was one of the early investigators who noted that unilateral damage to the vagus nerve may produce bilateral paralysis of the vocal cords, or paralysis on one side and spasm on the other. He underscored the particular value of laryngoscopy to the understanding of neurological diseases affecting the larynx: The larynx being … the organ of the voice is largely supplied by nerves and endowed with exquisite sensibility. Its muscular apparatus is therefore readily thrown into a state of spasm, not only by irritation of the larynx itself, but by disturbing influences transmitted from a distance through the nerves … before the introduction of the laryngoscope it was often impossible to determine to what extent the symptoms were a result of structural changes with in the larynx, and how far they were due to spasm of the laryngeal muscle. (Johnson, 1864, p. 41)
Listener impressions of alaryngeal communication modalities
Published in International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 2021
Stephanie M. Knollhoff, Stephanie A. Borrie, Tyson S. Barrett, Jeff P. Searl
One common location for a head and neck cancer tumour is the larynx. The larynx serves as the location where air is transformed into sound, via vocal fold vibration, that ultimately becomes an individual’s voice. Currently, the medical gold standard of treatment for advanced laryngeal cancer, particularly tumour staging four and recurrent laryngeal cancer, is a total laryngectomy (Sheahan, 2014). Total laryngectomy involves the complete removal of the larynx, hyoid bone to trachea, creating a major disruption to speech production due to the elimination of the vocal folds. Additionally, airflow from the lungs has to be rerouted through a stoma in the neck (i.e. tracheostomy) leaving only one pathway from the oral cavity to the oesophagus (Adil & Goldenberg, 2018; Dietrich, 1999). Recipients of a total laryngectomy will experience alterations to their verbal communication and respiration, requiring speech rehabilitation.
Acoustic parameter changes after bariatric surgery
Published in Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology, 2022
Fakih Cihat Eravci, Barış Doğu Yildiz, Kürşat Murat Özcan, Münevver Moran, Mustafa Çolak, Süleyman Emre Karakurt, Mehmet Fatih Karakuş, Aykut Ikinciogullari
The voice is used as a vital tool for communication and is another fingerprint in social life representing the individual with its unique characteristics, and many use the voice in professional life. The voice is produced by the larynx with the motor power of airflow generated by the lungs. After the production of the voice, all the upper levels of the airway path contribute to the acoustic characteristics. Therefore, the supralaryngeal vocal tract size and configuration is a determinative factor in the features of the voice [6]. Changes in any part of the voice production process (i.e. the lung capacity, laryngeal tract, and supralaryngeal vocal tract) result in differences in voice characteristics. Changes in the length and shape of the vocal tract, or height and position of the tongue can result in changes especially in formant frequencies in the acoustic analysis [7].
Related Knowledge Centers
- Cricoid Cartilage
- Pharynx
- Respiratory Epithelium
- Trachea
- Vocal Cords
- Esophagus
- Neck
- Phonation
- Epiglottis
- Laryngeal Inlet