Cricothyroid ligament
ligament between thyroid cartilage and cricoid cartilage
The cricothyroid ligament (also known as the cricothyroid membrane or cricovocal membrane) is a ligament in the larynx. It connects the cricoid cartilage to the thyroid cartilage. It prevents these cartilages from moving too far apart. It is cut during an emergency cricothyrotomy to treat upper airway obstruction.
Structure
The cricothyroid ligament is composed of two parts:
the median cricothyroid ligament along the midline (a thickening of the cricothyroid membrane). It is a flat band of white connective tissue that connects the front parts of the contiguous margins of the cricoid and thyroid cartilages. It is a thick and strong ligament, narrow above and broad below.
the lateral cricothyroid ligaments on each side (also known as coni elastici "elastic cones"). Each is overlapped on either side by laryngeal muscles.
The conus elasticus (which means elastic cone in Latin) is the lateral portion of the cricothyroid ligament.
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This entry incorporates text from “Cricothyroid ligament” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.