Henry Gray (1825–1861). Anatomy of the Human Body. 1918.
pages 1083
| from the base of one cartilage to the apex of the opposite one, and therefore cross each other like the limbs of the letter X; a few fibers are continued around the lateral margin of the cartilage, and are prolonged into the aryepiglottic fold; they are sometimes described as a separate muscle, the Aryepiglotticus. The Arytænoideus transversus crosses transversely between the two cartilages. |
| The Thyreoarytænoideus (Thyroarytenoid) (Figs. 959, 960) is a broad, thin, muscle which lies parallel with and lateral to the vocal fold, and supports the wall of the ventricle and its appendix. It arises in front from the lower half of the angle of the thyroid cartilage, and from the middle cricothyroid ligament. Its fibers pass backward and lateralward, to be inserted into the base and anterior surface of the arytenoid cartilage. The lower and deeper fibers of the muscle can be differentiated as a triangular band which is inserted into the vocal process of the arytenoid cartilage, and into the adjacent portion of its anterior surface; it is termed the Vocalis, and lies parallel with the vocal ligament, to which it is adherent. |
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FIG. 960– Muscles of the larynx, seen from above. (Enlarged.) (See enlarged image) |
| A considerable number of the fibers of the Thyreoarytænoideus are prolonged into the aryepiglottic fold, where some of them become lost, while others are continued to the margin of the epiglottis. They have received a distinctive name, Thyreoepiglotticus, and are sometimes described as a separate muscle. A few fibers extend along the wall of the ventricle from the lateral wall of the arytenoid cartilage to the side of the epiglottis and constitute the Ventricularis muscle. |
Actions.—In considering the actions of the muscles of the larynx, they may be conveniently divided into two groups, vix.: 1. Those which open and close the glottis. 2. Those which regulate the degree of tension of the vocal folds. |
| The Cricoarytœnoidei posteriores separate the vocal folds, and, consequently, open the glottis, by rotating the arytenoid cartilages outward around a vertical axis passing through the cricoarytenoid joints; so that their vocal processes and the vocal folds attached to them become widely separated. |
| The Cricoarytœnoidei laterales close the glottis by rotating the arytenoid cartilages inward, so as to approximate their vocal processes. |
| The Arytœnoideus approximates the arytenoid cartilages, and thus closes the opening of the glottis, especially at its back part. |
| The Cricothyreoidei produce tension and elongation of the vocal folds by drawing up the arch of the cricoid cartilage and tilting back the upper border of its lamina; the distance between the vocal processes and the angle of the thyroid is thus increased, and the folds are consequently elongated. |
| The Thyreoarytœnoidei, consisting of two parts having different attachments and different directions, are rather complicated as regards their action. Their main use is to draw the arytenoid cartilages forward toward the thyroid, and thus shorten and relax the vocal folds. But, owing to the connection of the deeper portion with the vocal fold, this part, if acting separately, is supposed to modify its elasticity and tension, while the lateral portion rotates the arytenoid cartilage inward, and thus narrows the rima glottidis by bringing the two vocal folds together. |
| The manner in which the entrance of the larynx is closed during deglutition is referred to on page 1140. |
Mucous Membrane.—The mucous membrane of the larynx is continuous above with that lining the mouth and pharynx, and is prolonged through the trachea and bronchi into the lungs. It lines the posterior surface and the upper part of the anterior surface of the epiglottis, to which |