EMBRYOLOGICAL

DEVELOPMENT OF LARYNX
GROUP 3
Done by:
Ruth
Visishta
Sera
Cristelle
 LARNYX
The larynx (voicebox) is situated in the anterior
portion of the neck above the trachea. Its location
anterior to the inferior portion of the pharynx
allows it to play an important role in deglutition.
Primary function of larynx is protection of airway
from food particles and secretion of oropharynx.
• The larynx develops from the cranial-most part of the
respiratory diverticulum.
• The communication, between the diverticulum and
the pharynx, persists as the inlet of the larynx.
LARYNGEAL CARTILAGES
The cartilages separate into two groupings.
The first set of cartilages are considered to be unpaired cartilages of the larynx
(known as the thyroid and cricoid cartilages).
Two laminae of the thyroid cartilage come together to join anteriorly at the
laryngeal prominence, popularly known as the "Adam's apple".

Posteriorly, the two laminae of the thyroid cartilage remain open.

The posterior aspect of each thyroid cartilage lamina extends superiorly and
inferiorly forming both the superior and inferior horns.
The superior horn of the thyroid cartilage makes an attachment to the hyoid bone
via the thyrohyoid membrane and the lateral thyrohyoid ligament.

Within this thyrohyoid membrane lies a foramen in which both the superior
laryngeal vessels and the internal branch of the superior laryngeal nerve reside.
The inferior horn attaches to the cricoid cartilage via the cricothyroid membrane.
The cricoid cartilage is the only full cartilage ring within the larynx.
It is composed of hyaline cartilage and often referred to as having
a “signet ring” appearance. The posterior aspect of the cricoid
cartilage, known as the lamina, is much wider than the anterior
portion of the cartilage, referred to as the arch of the cricoid.

The second set of cartilages (arytenoid, cuneiform, and corniculate

cartilages), are known as paired cartilages and lie internally within
the larynx.
The cuneiform and corniculate cartilages are fibroelastic cartilages
and mainly function to provide rigidity to the aryepiglottic folds.
The corniculate lies above and sits on the arytenoid cartilage, while
the cuneiform lies within the aryepiglottic folds.
VOCAL FOLDS
The vocal fold comprises five layers (deep to superficial layers as
follows):

Thyroarytenoid muscle,
Deep lamina propria,
Intermediate lamina propria,
Superficial lamina propria,
and the Squamous epithelium.

The deep and intermediate lamina propria both are grouped to form
the vocal ligament mentioned above.
The opening into the laryngeal lumen is lined by the aryepiglottic
folds in which several of the cartilages lie.

The laryngeal ventricle is both an outpouching the laryngeal wall and

potential space. It lies between the supraglottic and glottic larynx.
It extends laterally as an outpouching that is known as the laryngeal
saccule because of its ability to collapse upon itself.

Two structures within the larynx are important to prevent the

spread of malignancy:
The first is the quadrangular membrane.
It houses the ventricular ligament.
The other structure is the conus elasticus. This membrane spreads
from the cricoid cartilage to the vocal ligament within the true vocal
folds.
MUSCLES
During respiration, air flows best during abduction of the vocal folds.
Therefore, it is reasonable to state that the posterior cricothyroid is solely
responsible for optimal respiration.

Regarding phonation, adducted vocal folds produce the best sound

quality. The adductors of the vocal folds, and thus those providing optimal
sound quality, are the thyroarytenoid, interarytenoid, and the lateral
cricoarytenoid muscles.

Higher pitched phonation, however, is best when the vocal folds tense via
the two bundles of the cricothyroid muscle.
The pars recta, the vertically oriented bundle, attaches to the anterior portion of the
cricoid and the thyroid cartilage thus causing an anterior rotation around the
cricothyroid joint when it contracts.

The second bundle is oriented upward and backward and is known as the pars
oblique.
The pars oblique contracts and subsequently displaces its attachments at the
anterior surfaces of the cricoid cartilage and thyroid cartilage posteriorly. These two
actions together cause increased tension and elongation of the vocal folds.
EMBRYOLOGY OF THE LARYNX
The larynx develops during the fourth week of development from both
the endoderm and the mesoderm.

The internal lining of the larynx originates from the endoderm while the
cartilages and muscles develop from the third, fourth, and sixth
pharyngeal arches.
THE 4TH WEEK
At the fourth week, an outgrowth known as the laryngotracheal
groove appears from the developing foregut.

This groove deepens and eventually forms the esophagotracheal

septum, allowing the esophagus to lie on the dorsal side of the septum
and the rest of the respiratory tract anteriorly.

The groove's length continues to become the laryngotracheal

diverticulum which eventually will give rise to the larynx, trachea, and
lungs.
The laryngeal lumen at first is obliterated due to the epithelial proliferation.
However, it becomes re-canalized between weeks 7 to 10.

The arches give rise to the nerves, cartilages, and musculature in the larynx.

They are:
Third Branchial Arch
Cranial nerve IX
Greater horn of hyoid, epiglottis

Fourth Branchial Arch

Superior Laryngeal Nerve
Thyroid cartilage, cuneiform cartilage, epiglottis
Cricopharyngeus muscle, cricothyroid muscle
Sixth Branchial Arch
Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve
Cricoid cartilage, arytenoid cartilages, corniculate cartilages
Intrinsic musculature of the larynx.

No part of the larynx is ossified at birth. The first to ossify is the hyoid around
the second or third year of life. The teenage years are when the thyroid
cartilage ossifies, while the cricoid does not ossify until the fourth decade of
life.
• By the second trimester diaphragmatic and laryngeal
movements can be identified and the coordination between
the respiratory and laryngeal systems is apparent.
It is obvious that the size of the laryngeal anatomy is
smaller in a newborn child versus an adult.

• The vocal folds are complete, and the baby can and does
sometimes cry silently by the 12th week of fetal
development.

• In newborns, the length of the vocal fold is 2.5 to 3.0mm

with continual linear growth as a function of age.