The lateral cricoarytenoid (also anterior cricoarytenoid) muscles extend from the lateral

cricoid cartilage The cricoid cartilage , or simply cricoid (from the Greek ''krikoeides'' meaning "ring-shaped") or cricoid ring, is the only complete ring of cartilage around the trachea. It forms the back part of the voice box and functions as an attachment si ...

to the muscular process of the arytenoid cartilage. By rotating the arytenoid cartilages medially, these muscles adduct the

vocal cord In humans, vocal cords, also known as vocal folds or voice reeds, are folds of throat tissues that are key in creating sounds through vocalization. The size of vocal cords affects the pitch of voice. Open when breathing and vibrating for speec ...

s and thereby close the

rima glottidis The rima glottidis is the opening between the two true vocal cords anteriorly, and the two arytenoid cartilages posteriorly. It is part of the larynx. Anatomy The rima glottidis is the narrowest part of larynx. It is longer (~23 mm) in males ...

, protecting the airway. (Their action is antagonistic to that of the

posterior cricoarytenoid muscle The posterior cricoarytenoid muscles are small, paired intrinsic muscles of the larynx that extend between cricoid cartilage to the arytenoid cartilages in the larynx. Structure Origin and insertion The posterior cricoarytenoid originates f ...

s.) The lateral cricoarytenoid muscles receive innervation from the recurrent laryngeal branch of the

vagus nerve The vagus nerve, also known as the tenth cranial nerve, cranial nerve X, or simply CN X, is a cranial nerve that interfaces with the parasympathetic control of the heart, lungs, and digestive tract. It comprises two nerves—the left and righ ...

(CN X).

Additional images

File:Gray960.png, Muscles of the larynx, seen from above.

External links

* * () Muscles of the head and neck {{muscle-stub

Additional images

See also

External links