Anatomy and Physiology of the Throat Flashcards
Dysphonia?
Hoarseness
Odynophagia?
Painful swallowing
Dysphagia?
Difficulty swallowing
Referred otalgia?
Pain going from throat to ear
Name the three divisions of the pharynx.
Nasopharynx
Oropharynx
Hypopharynx
Name the three components of the larynx.
Supraglottis
Glottis
Subglottis
What is the posterior boundary of the mouth?
Tonsils
Soft palate
What is the function of the mouth?
Chewing (mastication)
Oral phase of swallowing
Taste
Transforms sound generated from the larynx into discernable words.
What do the muscles of mastication do?
Move the jaw- all attached to the mandible
Name the four primary muscles of mastication.
Temporalis
Masseter
Medial pterygoid
Lateral pterygoid
What innervates the four primary muscles of mastication?
Mandibular branch of trigeminal nerve (CN V3)
What type of innervation is given to the tongue?
Motor
Sensory
Special sensory- taste
What provides sensory innervation to the anterior 2/3 of the tongue?
Lingual nerve (branch of trigeminal nerve)
Which nerve supplies the special sense of taste?
Caroticotympanic, branch of the facial nerve
Which nerve provides general and special sensory innervation to the posterior 1/3 of the tongue?
Glossopharyngeal nerve
Which nerve supplies the majority of the motor innervation to the tongue?
Hypoglossal nerve
Which nerve supplies the platoglottus of the tongue with motor innervation?
Vagus nerve
Describe the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic muscles of the tongue.
Intrinsic- Inside the tongue, no bone attachment
Extrinsic- muscles which go from bone to the tongue
List the four intrinsic muscles of the tongue.
Superior longitudal
Inferior longitudal
Transverse
Vertical
List the four extrinsic muscles of the tongue.
Genioglossus
Hyoglossus
Styloglossus
Palatoglossus
What is the posterior border of the mouth?
Anterior tonsillar pillars
What is the superior border of the mouth?
oral mucosal space…the mouth
What is the anterior border of the mouth?
Mandibular gingiva
What is the inferior border of the mouth?
Mylohyoid muscle
What is the function of the nasopharynx?
Allows air into the larynx.
What does the hypopharynx and oropharynx contribute towards?
Normal swallowing process
What does the hypopharynx lead to?
Oesophagus
Which nerves provide sensation to the oropharynx and hypopharynx?
Glossopharyngeal nerve
Vagus nerve
Which nerves provide motor fibres to the pharyngeal constrictor muscles?
Vagus nerve
Which vertebral level does the larynx run to and from?
C3-6
What does the larynx do?
Allows flow of air from mouth to trachea
Prevents aspiration of food
Produces voice and alters pitch and volume
How does the larynx prevent aspiration of food into the airway?
Closes epiglottis
Cough relfex
Which nerve supplies all motor innervation to the laryngeal muscle?
Recurrent laryngeal nerve
(note…all muscle except cricothyroid muscle which is supplied by the superior laryngeal nerve).
Which nerve supplies sensory innervation to the laryngeal muscle?
Vagus nerve
-Above vocal cords e.g. glottis and supraglottris = superior laryngeal nerve
-Below vocal cords e.g. subglottic= recurrent laryngeal branch
What do the cricothyroid muscles do to the larynx?
Lengthen and tense vocal cords
What do the posterior cricoarytenoid muscles do to the larynx?
Abduct and externally rotate arytenoid cartilages, resulting in abducted vocal cords.
What do the lateral cricoarytenoid muscles do to the larynx?
Adduct and internally rotate arytenoid cartilages, increasing medial compression
What do the transverse arytenoid muscles do to the larynx?
Adduct the arytenoid cartilage, resulting in adducted vocal cords.
What do the oblique arytenoid muscles do to the larynx?
Narrow laryngeal inlet by decreasing space between arytenoid cartilages
What do the thyroarytenoid muscles do to the larynx?
Narrow laryngeal inlet, shorten vocal cords, lower pitch
What are the three things that must be present to produce recognisable voice?
- Airflow to larynx
- Vibration/mucosal wave
- Resonance in upper aerodigestive tract and use of pharynx, mouth, lips and tongue to manipulate sound produced by larynx into words and sounds
Globus Pharyngeus?
Feeling of something in the throat when there is nothing there
