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Laryngeal prominence
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Adam's apple | |
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| An example of male laryngeal prominence. | |
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| Front view of neck. | |
| Latin | prominentia laryngea |
| Precursor | 4th and 6th branchial arch |
| Dorlands/Elsevier | p_36/12669875 |
- "Adam's apple" redirects here. For other uses, see Adam's apple (disambiguation)
The Adam's apple—clinically known as the laryngeal prominence—is a feature of the human neck. This lump, or protrusion, is formed by the angle of the thyroid cartilage surrounding the larynx.
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The laryngeal prominence is usually more prominent in adult men than in women or prepubescent girls or boys. Note that the growth of the larynx itself during puberty is responsible for the vocal instability in teenage boys, not the laryngeal prominence. The laryngeal prominence is merely the protrusion one sees of the thyroid cartilage making up the body of the larynx. Some suggest that the reason for the laryngeal prominence usually being more prominent in males is that the two laminae of the thyroid cartilage that form the protrusion meet at an angle of 90° in males but that angle is usually 120° in females. This theory, however, seems more like conjecture when the fact is taken into consideration that with most women with a large laryngeal prominence appear no different from those seen on men.
A prominent laryngeal prominence is commonly considered a male secondary sex characteristic though this is more of a perception because not all males have large laryngeal prominence and quite a few women do.
The laryngeal prominence can be more prominent than desired, and this is sometimes remedied by a chondrolaryngoplasty (thyroid chondroplasty), a type of plastic surgery to reduce the size of the laryngeal prominence.[1] This surgery is not without risk as it can adversely affect the voice and cause permanent damage as well as leaving a visible scar. This surgery can also be part of sex reassignment therapy for male-to-female transgender or transsexual people (transwomen).[2]
"Adam's apple" is a reference to forbidden fruit in the biblical book of Genesis.
- ^ Wolfort FG, Dejerine ES, Ramos DJ, Parry RG (1990). "Chondrolaryngoplasty for appearance". Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 86 (3): 464–9; discussion 470. PMID 2385664.
- ^ Neumann K, Welzel C, Berghaus A (2003). "[Operative voice pitch raising in male-to-female transsexuals. A survey of our technique and results]" (in German). HNO 51 (1): 30–7. doi:10.1007/s00106-002-0654-4. PMID 12557095.
- laryngeal+prominence at eMedicine Dictionary
- Norman/Georgetown lesson11
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| Head | Skull · Forehead · Eye · Ear · Nose · Mouth · Tongue · Teeth · Jaw · Face · Cheek · Chin |
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| Neck | Throat · Adam's apple | |
| Torso | Shoulders · Spine · Breast (Tail of Spence) · Chest · Ribcage · Abdomen · Navel Sex organs (Clitoris · Vagina · Penis · Scrotum · Testicle) – Hip · Anus · Buttocks |
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| Limbs | Arm · Elbow · Forearm · Wrist · Hand · Finger (Thumb · Index · Middle · Ring · Little) · Leg · Lap · Thigh · Knee · Calf · Heel · Ankle · Foot · Toe (Hallux) | |
| Skin | Hair | |
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| Cartilages | Cricoid • Thyroid (Laryngeal prominence) • Epiglottis • Arytenoid • Cuneiform • Corniculate |
| Ligaments | extrinsic ligaments: Thyrohyoid membrane (Lateral thyrohyoid ligament, Median thyrohyoid ligament) • Hyoepiglottic ligament • Cricotracheal ligament intrinsic ligaments: Cricothyroid ligament |
| Folds and related structures | folds: (Glossoepiglottic, Aryepiglottic, Vocal, Vestibular) Vocal ligament • Ventricle of the larynx • Infraglottic cavity • Vestibule of larynx • Rima glottidis • Glottis |
| Triangles of the neck | Anterior of the neck (Muscular, Carotid, Submandibular, Submental)
Posterior of the neck (Occipital, Subclavian) Suboccipital |
| Fascia | Deep cervical fascia (Pretrachial fascia, Prevertebral fascia, Investing layer) • Carotid sheath • Buccopharyngeal fascia |
| Other | Retropharyngeal space |