Diseases of the larynx / by De. J. Gottstein; translated and added to by P. M'Bride.

  • Gottstein, Jacob, 1832-1895.
Date:
[1885]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Diseases of the larynx / by De. J. Gottstein; translated and added to by P. M'Bride. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by University of Bristol Library. The original may be consulted at University of Bristol Library.

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    surface of the epiglottis is concave from before backwards, and convex from side to side, while, of course, the inferior surface presents opposite characteristics. The arytenoids are the most mobile cartilages of the larynx, through which movements most important alike for respiration and phonation are produced; they are situated in the posterior part of the larynx, and are united with the cricoid through a saddle-shaped joint. Each is shaped like a pyramid turned slightly inward, with a flattened apex, and with the base sloping 0ff obliquely. The base has two processes; the one (processus muscularis) arises as the margin which separates the pos- terior from the anterior surface of the pyramid becomes broader towards the base, and overlaps the margin of the cricoid cartilage, to it are attached the lateral and posterior crico-arytenoid muscles ; the other (the processus vocalis) is formed by the junction of the median, anterior, and inferior surfaces of the pyramid. The outer border of this pro- minence can be recognised more or less distinctly by means of the laryngoscope through the yellow colour which it imparts to-the mucous membrane, and marks the boundary between the cartilaginous and ligamentous portion of the vocal cord. The cartilages of Santorini, small, conical, and slightly bent back- wards, lie on the apex of the arytenoids; the cartilages of Wrisberg are situated in the aryepiglottic folds; finally, the sesamoid cartilages, which, however, are by no means constant, appear as small elongated bodies attached to the edge of each arytenoid by means of elastic fibrous tissue. The individual cartilages of the larynx are attached by means of ligaments to each other and to adjacent parts, i.e. to the hyoid bone and trachea. The larynx is remarkable for the fact that there is between mucous membrane and cartilage a continuous layer of elastic fibrous tissue which varies in thickness, and is at some parts firmly, at others loosely, attached to the mucous membrane, while here and there it shapes itself into distinct ligaments. Of importance to the laryngo- scopist is the glosso-epiglottic ligament, which arises from the root of the tongue as a septum, and is attached to the anterior surface of the epiglottis in the middle line, and also the superior and inferior thyro- arytenoid ligaments. The superior thyro-arytenoid ligament, which lies in a fold of mucous membrane, and together with this forms the ven- tricular band or false cord, is attached in front to the receding angle of the thyroid cartilage, just above the insertion of the epiglottis, while posteriorly the fibi-es, which are few and not continuous with one another, are lost in the region of the anterior border of the arytenoid. The inferior thyro-arytenoid ligament represents that part of the larynx which is most important for its function—the vocal cord. The right and left vocal cords arise quite close to each other from the