Measurements of pre- and postpubertal human larynx: a cadaver study

Abstract

This study investigates the differences in proportion and structure of the larynx in both children and adults, as well as changes which the larynx undergoes during puberty and adolescence. Furthermore, we have tried to answer the question on the existence of laryngeal sexual dismorphism in pre-pubertal (or pubertal) children. Larynges of 20 adults (10 men and 10 women) and 34 larynges of children not more than 12 years of age were acquired from the Forensic Medicine Department of the Medical University of Warsaw, Poland. Methods used are based on (1) anatomical preparation, (2) anatomical description and (3) measurements performed with the use of a digital camera and a computer-aided system MULTISCAN. Statistics, the Student's test and Pearson's linear correlation coefficient were calculated. Results show that proportions of the larynx depend on the age of the individual. The younger the individual is the more slender the larynx would be. However, proportion is not gender-related and hence is about the same in both males and females of any given age-group. Nevertheless, basic parameters were larger in males.

Morfologia da laringe em Cerdocyon thous (Linnaeus, 1766)

“…Ainda que pouco estudadas em mamíferos, caracterís-ticas de dimorfismo sexual na laringe são reconhecidas em seres humanos (Maue & Dickson 1971, Wysocki et al 2008a, bovinos (Wysocki et al 2008b) e renas (Frey et al 2007), embora não encontradas em cães domésticos (Tayama et al 2001), equinos (Charuta et al 2009) nem suínos (Wysocki et al 2010). De acordo com Harrison (1995) na maioria das espécies a laringe dos machos seria maior que a das fêmeas e isto decorreria de um porte corporal maior, mas também de uma alta afinidade de receptores de andrógenos nas cartilagens laríngeas.…”

“…As medidas bilaterais (1e, 1f, 1g, 2f, 2g, 3a, 3b e 3c) foram realizadas em ambos os antímeros e obtida uma média. As 23 medidas foram adaptadas dos trabalhos de Wysocki et al (2008a), Wysocki et al (2008b), Charuta et al (2009) e Wysocki et al (2010 e encontram-se listadas no Quadro 1 e esquematizadas na Figura 1. Além das dezesseis laringes mensuradas, outra laringe pertencente a um espécime fêmea foi submetida à dissecação e desarticulação das cartilagens para fotomacrografias individualizadas.…”

“…Apesar de descrições sobre a forma, disposição e constituição musculocartilaginosa da laringe dos animais domésticos serem encontradas nos livros-texto (Hare 1986, Dyce et al 2010, König & Liebich 2011, poucos estudos estabelecem proporcionalidades ou investigam sinais de dimorfismo sexual na laringe de mamíferos domésticos ou silvestres (Tayama et al 2001, Frey et al 2007, Wysocki et al 2008b, Charuta et al 2009, Wysocki et al 2010. Quando disponíveis, tais estudos restringem-se à análise de poucos espécimes e não avaliam características morfomé-tricas (Adaro et al 2004, Oliveira et al 2011, Bertassoli et al 2013, Erdoğan & Pérez 2013.…”

Heredity of supraglottic exercise-induced laryngeal obstruction

“…This predominance has yet to be explained; however, gender differences in larynx size/growth and consequently higher "Bernoulli forces" in females for a given respiratory demand could be a contributing factor [5]. Thus, an inherited disorder affecting laryngeal growth could also explain why the condition usually presents in adolescence [12,13]. A recent study by Hilland and colleagues [14] describing an association between congenital laryngomalacia and (mainly supraglottic) laryngeal closure in adolescence, points out a likely predisposition for supraglottic exercise-induced laryngeal obstruction (EILO), whereas case studies have demonstrated that congenital laryngomalacia can be inherited [15,16].…”

“…This model would be the simplest explanation for the findings and the established gender difference. The influence of gender is a well-known phenomenon in autosomal dominant traits, for example, pre-senile baldness in which hormonal differences play a role in the expression of the trait [13]. Unknown, but similar mechanisms could be the reason for the female predominance in supraglottic EILO [15,16].…”