Anatomy of the larynx and pharynx: effects of age, gender and height revealed by multidetector computed tomography

Abstract

Although oropharyngeal and laryngeal structures are essential for swallowing, the three-dimensional (3D) anatomy is not well understood, due in part to limitations of available measuring techniques. This study uses 3D images acquired by 320-row area detector computed tomography ('320-ADCT'), to measure the pharynx and larynx and to investigate the effects of age, gender and height. Fifty-four healthy volunteers (30 male, 24 female, 23-77 years) underwent one single-phase volume scan (0.35 s) with 320-ADCT during resting tidal breathing. Six measurements of the pharynx and two of larynx were performed. Bivariate statistical methods were used to analyse the effects of gender, age and height on these measurements. Length and volume were significantly larger for men than for women for every measurement (P < 0.05) and increased with height (P < 0.05). Multiple regression analysis was performed to understand the interactions of gender, height and age. Gender, height and age each had significant effects on certain values. The volume of the larynx and hypopharynx was significantly affected by height and age. The length of pharynx was associated with gender and age. Length of the vocal folds and distance from the valleculae to the vocal folds were significantly affected by gender (P < 0.05). These results suggest that age, gender and height have independent and interacting effects on the morphology of the pharynx and larynx. Three-dimensional imaging and morphometrics using 320-ADCT are powerful tools for efficiently and reliably observing and measuring the pharynx and larynx.

Characterization of pharyngeal peristaltic pressure variability during volitional swallowing in healthy individuals

“…Although we did not stratify patients by their anthropometric features, published reports have noted no significant relationship between pharyngeal length and other anthropometric measures. 17–19 …”

“…Another issue that can potentially influence the manometric recordings of the pharynx includes some anthropometric features such as subject height or more precisely the length of the contractile pharynx. Although we did not stratify patients by their anthropometric features, published reports have noted no significant relationship between pharyngeal length and other anthropometric measures [17][18][19]. Although we did not do a formal comparison between young and elderly individuals in terms of the influence of aging on the observed variability of pharyngeal peristaltic pressure amplitude due to inadequate number of those over the age of 70.…”

The effects of sarcopenic dysphagia on the dynamics of swallowing organs observed on videofluoroscopic swallowing studies

“…The larynx position at rest is said to differ between men and women, and similar results were obtained in this study. Inamoto et al found that there was a significant gender difference in the hyoid bone position and laryngeal size when examining the pharynx and larynx in adults . From these things, it was thought that the larynx that remained high was not easily affected by sarcopenia during swallowing.…”

Human Carcinogenesis: Toward a Unified Theory

“…It's bigger in men than in women [17]. And we think that's why larynx cancer is 6-fold more common in men than women.…”