hi let's talk about the laryngeal cavity so the laryngeal cavity is the space through
which air moves in the larynx so to the right here we can see a posterior view of the lyrics
invested by mucosa so I'll outline there is the epiglottis there are the read node cartilages
they're sitting atop the cricoid cartilage the the walls of the laryngopharynx have
been incised and are being pulled laterally superiorly here this would be the palato to
be the palatopharyngeal fold the uvula this rugose area is the root of the tongue
the space is here if we were to pull the epiglottis posteriorly that would reveal the
epiglottis vallecula and the inter arytenoid notch is this space here that I'm outlining in
between the mucosa covered arytenoid cartilages so if we were to take the entirety of this space
so here are the aryepiglottic folds going from the arytenoid cartilage up to the epiglottis
laterally it's within those aryepiglottic folds that one can fine the connote cuneiform
cartilages but if we were to take this entire space here and outline it that would be the
laryngeal Inlet so that's the space through which air can move in and out of the lyrics
which is contiguous with the laryngopharynx laterally here so we can see some spaces that
are within the laryngopharynx there's one of them these are the pyriform recesses or the pyriform
fossa these are areas in which food may get trapped so during deglutition the larynx is
going to elevate and that's going to come into contact with this epiglottis cartilage so is to
prevent the movement of fluid or beverage into that laryngeal Inlet with a lot of luck that
material travels inferiorly or distally down the esophagus to the stomach but from time to
time materials may get trapped in these Piriform recesses which can be very uncomfortable for an
individual so let's take a look at this same region with the lyrics incised so as we can
see here and here the the posterior aspect of the cricoid cartilage has been incised and reflected
laterally we can see still the epiglottis here the arytenoid cartilages would be there
in there invested with mucosa so as as air moves in and out of the the
larynx through that laryngeal Inlet it's going to be moving through a
space so just outline it there called the laryngeal vestibule
distal to the laryngeal vestibule we're going to have the vestibular folds also known as the false
vocal fault see them there and there these are the vestibular ligaments that are running from
the arytenoid cartilages to the thyroid cartilage and these are going to be invested with mucosa
the space between these false vocal folds or the vestibular folds is known as the Rima vestibule
as we move inferior to the Rima vestibule and those false vocal folds we see empty space
that empty space is the laryngeal ventricle and we can't see it in this particular photograph
but it is much more extensive laterally than we can appreciate here immediately below the
laryngeal ventricle are the vocal folds the vocal folds are what vibrate during phonation
so there are vocal ligaments which are invested with mucosa that have some muscle associated with
them and they're oftentimes refer to as vocal cords the space between the vocal folds is known
as the Rima glottis or Rima glottis so that's the space that's rather dynamic as the as the
arytenoid cartilages either pivot or slide it can become more or less patent depending
on activities of if there's movement of of air for breathing versus move of air for phonation
and then inferior to these vocal folds and the Rima glottis is a region known as the infra
glottic cavity and this will extends down to the inferior margin of the cricoid cartilage so
as one can imagine this inraglottic cavity is contiguous with the lumen of the trachea and so
on the way-out air will pass from the trachea to the infra glottic cavity it will move through the
Rima glottis through the laryngeal ventricle through the rima vestibule through the
laryngeal ventricle vestibule out the laryngeal Inlet and it will be then conducted via the
the pharynx which is part of that aerodigestive pathway the reverse air can be brought in either
through the oral or nasal cavity into either the oral pharynx or the nasopharynx the oral
pharynx is contiguous with the nasopharynx and is contiguous with the laryngopharynx
which is contiguous with the lyrics through the laryngeal Inlet thank you for your time