A morphometric analysis of laryngeal anatomy: A cadaveric study

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to describe morphometric measurements of the laryngeal framework and discuss their implications for phonosurgery among Turkish subjects.

Patients and Methods: Larynges from 40 male and 20 female fresh cadavers were extracted during autopsy in a forensic science institution between January 2015 and December 2015. Measurements were taken of the length of membranous and cartilaginous vocal fold (mVF, cVF), width and thickness of VF (wVF, tVF), anterior and posterior subglottic distance (AS, PS), width and height of thyroid cartilage (wTC, hTC), and distance between projection of anterior commissure to thyroid cartilage inferior border (pAC to TIB).

Results: For all parameters, median and mean values were higher in male groups, but the differences were significant only in pAC to TIB, wTC, cVF and mVF groups (p<.05). No statistically significant difference between age groups was found. The location of AC was observed above the midpoint of the thyroid cartilage, and the mean distance between the pAC to TIB was 10.2±2.9 mm in males and 7.8±1 mm in females. The mean AS value was 13.14±3.67, whereas the posterior subglottic distance mean value was 7.14±1.35.

Conclusion: Although sex is an important factor to define laryngeal morphometrics, age may not be a significant factor. The significant difference in mean distance from pAC to TIB among males and females is an important consideration in laryngeal framework surgery. However, studies with larger samples are needed to confirm our findings.