Unleash Your Inner Vocalist: 11 Fascinating and Fun Facts About the Larynx

1. The Larynx's Mini-Gymnast

Feeling the wind beneath your vocal folds: Your larynx houses a mini-gymnast named the posterior cricoarytenoid, a muscle solely responsible for opening your vocal folds and allowing air to flow during inspiration. If it takes a day off, your vocal folds might give you an unplanned chokehold!
Source => ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

2. Childhood Larynx Makeover

If the larynx was a contestant on a singing reality show, it would absolutely nail the high notes as a baby but lose its whistle register as it grew up: Interestingly, the position and structure of the larynx change throughout childhood, reaching its final position between the sixth and seventh cervical vertebrae by the age of 15. Remarkably, a newborn's cry starts with a pitch of 500 Hz, then takes a vocal plunge to 286 Hz by age 7, making these shifts crucial to consider in clinical applications like intubation, laryngoscopy, and tracheostomy.
Source => ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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=> Fun Facts about The-Human-Body

3. The Mysterious Adam's Apple

Though rumored to often make an ill-timed appearance on the fashion runway, the infamous "Adam's apple" has no qualms about playing hide-and-seek with even the most stylish of neck scarves: In reality, the thyroid cartilage, which forms that conspicuous little bump on human throats and goes by the popular moniker, is simply there to shield the delicate larynx and comes in varying dimensions depending on age, hormones, and genetics – so no need for envy or cover-ups in the name of chic!
Source => my.clevelandclinic.org

4. Swallowing Workout

Hey there, swallow your fear and give your larynx some exercise, because this bizarre workout might just help you gulp down your next meal! Ready to chow down on this tasty morsel of information? Here's the main course: Engaging in larynx-closure exercises can aid those with dysphagia by strengthening the pharynx muscles, promoting proper food passage through the esophagus, and preventing aspiration – all under the watchful eye of a speech-language pathologist. Bon appétit!
Source => hopkinsmedicine.org

5. The Larynx's Rock Band

Did you hear about the larynx's cover band? They're called The Vocal Folds, rocking out by using nothing more than a little vibration to get everyone's attention: In the human larynx, the vocal folds produce sound by vibrating, which then resonates and amplifies through the rest of the vocal tract, allowing our speech and singing vocals to reach the ears of our adoring fans and listeners.
Source => voicescienceworks.org

6. Maestro of the Throat

Larynx: the maestro orchestrating the vocal symphony within your throat, where every muscle movement is like an instrument playing its part, ensuring you can serenade or sass with finesse! The serious reveal: This amazing vocal conductor utilizes the vagus nerve and its intricate muscle movements to create a wide range of sounds, with even the smallest variations resulting in vastly different vocalizations for speech and singing.
Source => ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

7. Nature's Piano

Think of the larynx as nature's very own piano, with vocal cords plucking away to create sweet melodies instead of hammers and strings: But just like instruments, the vocal cords' length corresponds to voice types – a soprano's cords are shorter than a contralto's, and a tenor's are shorter than a bass's, requiring laryngoscopy to accurately decipher one's singing prowess.
Source => jamanetwork.com

8. Brain-tickling Vocal Virtuosity

What do opera singers and auctioneers have in common? They're both pros at tickling your brain with their vocal virtuosity! The maestro behind the curtain: the dorsal laryngeal motor cortex. This remarkable region of the human brain is solely dedicated to controlling vocal pitch, enabling us to convey meaning and emotion through speech and song – and leaving other species green with envy. Give it a nudge, and you might even provoke some surprise serenades, as direct stimulation evokes involuntary vocalization!
Source => sciencedirect.com

9. Talent Show Triple Threat

If the larynx ever tried out for a talent show, it would undoubtedly nail the roles of an eloquent orator, an opera singer, and a masterful mime artist: This versatile air passage extraordinaire consists of three sections, nine cartilages, and an epiglottis gatekeeper to prevent unwelcome particles from crashing the party, while also serenading our eardrums and championing the art of swallowing victuals safely.
Source => training.seer.cancer.gov

10. Larger-than-life Animal Larynx

Talk about a deep voice: red deer and koalas have evolved a descended larynx to elongate their vocal tract, making them a "larger-than-life" presence in the animal kingdom! This adaptation, an ancient aspect of vocal communication, allows them to produce lower formants, signaling bigger body size and dominance to others.
Source => sciencedirect.com

11. Perfect Dinner Guest Larynx

The larynx may well be the perfect dinner guest: always polite and considerate, it never forgets to move up and down, ensuring food and drink don't crash the party in the lungs: What's truly fascinating, though, is that the larynx, or voice box, is the only organ in the human body able to perform this elegant dance during swallowing, all the while vibrating those vocal cords to keep the conversation going.
Source => utswmed.org