Larynx

The larynx (IPA , plural larynges), or voicebox, is an organ in the neck of mammals involved in protection of the trachea and sound production. The larynx houses the vocal cords, and is situated at the point where the upper tract splits into the trachea and the esophagus.

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The structure of the larynx is mainly composed of cartilage bound by ligaments and muscle. At the front is the thyroid cartilage, creating the prominence of the Adam's apple in humans. The inferior horns (protrusions at the bottom rear of the thyroid cartilage) of the thyroid cartilage rest on a ring-shaped cartilage called the cricoid cartilage which connects the larynx to the trachea. The cricoid cartilage resembles a signet ring (narrow in front, broader in back). Above the larynx is the hyoid bone, by which (via various muscles and ligaments) the larynx is connected to the jaw and skull. These muscles move the larynx during swallowing. The hyoid is the only floating bone in the body; it is not 'attached' to any other bones. The epiglottis is another cartilage that extents upwards behind the back of the tongue and projects down through the hyoid bone. It connects to the thyroid cartilage just beneath the thyroid notch (the Adam's apple).

IPA: REDIRECT International Phonetic Alphabet...

Organ: An organ is the following:...

Neck: The neck is the part of the body on many limbed vertebrates that distinguishes the head from the torso or trunk....