Thyroid cartilage
The thyroid cartilage ( lat. Cartilago thyroid ) is the largest cartilage of the larynx . It consists of hyaline cartilage . This can calcify or ossify with age and then break more easily.
The thyroid cartilage consists of two side plates ( laminae ) that merge ventrally to form a body. On each side plate there is a "horn" at the top and bottom, Cornu superius and inferius . In animals these processes point to the front and back and are referred to as cornu rostrale (absent in pigs ) and caudale . On each side there is an oblique line ( linea obliqua ) to the muscle insertion.
On the body there is an incision at the top (in front of animals), the Incisura thyroidea superior ( rostralis ). It is closed by the thyrohyoid membrane of the thyroid cartilage . In animals, especially horses , the body is also deeply cut out at the back ( Incisura thyroidea caudalis ). This incision is closed by the cricothyroid ligament .
During puberty, a man develops a thickening on the front of the thyroid cartilage body, the Adam's apple ( prominentia laryngea ), and the voice becomes deeper . This formation is only indicated in animals. A pronounced Adam's apple can be reduced in size through an operation (laryngeal reduction plastic).
literature
- Franz-Viktor Salomon, Hans Geyer, Uwe Gille (ed.): Anatomy for veterinary medicine. Enke, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8304-1007-7 .