BIOL 221 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Hyaline Cartilage, Elastic Cartilage, Vestibular Fold
3 Mar 2020
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Document Summary
Hyaline cartilage including: thyroid, cricoid, paired arytenoid cartilages. The larynx starts around the level of vertebra c4 or c5 and ends around c6. It comprises the thyroid, cricoid and paired arytenoid cartilages as well as some smaller cartilages. These cartilages maintain the larynx as a patent passageway. The epiglottis is a mucosa-covered piece of elastic cartilage. It separates the airway from the food passageway to keep food out of larynx during swallowing. Vestibular folds lie superior to the true vocal cords and help protect the latter. Stratified squamous epithelium lines the larynx superior to the vestibular folds; inferiorly, it is lined with pseudostratified columnar epithelium. The latter has goblet cells that produce mucus to limit movement of inhaled undesirable materials (e. g. , debris and pathogens) into the lower airways. The vocal folds are elastic ligaments surrounding an opening called the glottis. The larynx allows for sound production by the vocal cords.
