hi this is dr fox and let's talk about laryngeal neurovasculature in this video we'll discuss the
arteries and nerves that serve the larynx their specific targets and their branches
in terms of the arteries that serve the larynx things are relatively straightforward
we have a superior laryngeal artery and an inferior laryngeal artery the superior laryngeal
artery is a branch of the superior thyroid artery that superior thyroid artery comes from external
carotid we can see the superior laryngeal artery branching from the superior thyroid artery here
in this illustration and it is piercing through the thyrohyoid membrane there and it's
accompanying the internal branch of the superior laryngeal nerve through this thyrohyoid membrane
the inferior laryngeal artery comes from the inferior thyroid artery inferior laryngeal
artery branches from the inferior thyroid artery and it accompanies the recurrent laryngeal nerve
moving superiorly along the tracheoesophageal groove and it is going to serve the larynx
from the inferior so superior inferior laryngeal arteries very straightforward
the vagus nerve is the sole innervator of the larynx and it does so through two major sets
of branches the superior laryngeal nerves and the recurrent laryngeal nerves the superior laryngeal
nerve branches high from the vagus nerve and it descends the neck and it bifurcates into
two branches there is an external branch which is the efferent to the cricothyroid muscle which we
can see there and then there is the internal branch which pierces through the thyrohyoid
membrane accompanying the superior laryngeal artery and that internal branch does two things
first of all it is the afferent of the mucosa which are proximal or superior to the vocal folds
and secondly it's the visceral motor specifically secretomotor to those mucosae which are also
proximal to the vocal folds the same mucosa so that internal branch is sensory and secretomotor
to the mucosa proximal or superior to the vocal folds whereas the external branch is efferent or
motor to the cricothyroid muscle i always remember this by you know i'm sensitive on the inside and i
am muscular on the outside not really but you know in perhaps a an alternate universe okay the other
uh major branches of the vagus nerve which serve the larynx are the recurrent laryngeal nerves
and we'll see how the pathways of these recurrent laryngeal nerves vary from the right to the left
that's a topic for another video but suffice it to say that these recurrent laryngeal nerves have
two major roles serving the larynx the first is that they are the somatic motor or efferent to all
intrinsic laryngeal muscles with the exception of cricothyroid that's innervated by the
external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve secondly the recurrent laryngeal nerves are
afferent or somatic sensory from
and secretomotor to the mucosa distal to the vocal folds or inferior to the vocal folds
so those vocal folds are going to be a major landmark for the different innervation patterns
of the internal branch of superior laryngeal nerve and the recurrent laryngeal nerve
so we've discussed the arteries which supply the larynx with blood as well as the vagus nerve and
its branches which innervate the larynx this is your summary slide thank you for your time