THE FUNCTIONAL ANATOMY OF PHONATION

In phonation, the breath stream rises up to the trachea from the lungs and runs into a constriction. This is the voice box where the vocal cords now called folds - are set in motion by the breath stream and they cause a buzz. If the voice folds could operate without any of the resonating areas above it (i.e. without your head), the sound made by the vibrating folds would be similar to a raspberry made with the lips, or perhaps a duck call. Phonation is the utterance of sounds through the use of vocal cords; vocalization. Its also the production of speech and sound through the vibration of the vocal folds in the larynx. SOUND SOURCES 1. The vibrating vocal folds, (a pure, spoken ah for instance) 2. Turbulence caused by constriction, ( shushing someone) 3. Blocked air flow (glottal stops and unreleased plosive consonants [k,p,t]) Phonation occurs in the larynx.

ANATOMY OF THE LARYNX The larynx is located in the anterior aspect of the neck, anterior to the inferior portion of the pharynx and superior to the trachea.

The larynx consist of 3 large, unpaired cartilages (cricoids, thyroid, epiglottis); 3 pairs of smaller cartilages (arytenoids, corniculate, cuneiform); and a number of intrinsic muscles. The hyoid bone, while technically not part of the larynx, provides muscular attachments from above that aid in laryngeal motion. CARTILAGES OF THE LARYNX CRICOID CARTILAGE Its a ring of hyaline cartilage located at the inferior aspect of the larynx and is the only complete ring of cartilage around the trachea. It has the shape of a signet ring, with a broad portion posterior to the airway (lamina of cricoids cartilage) and a narrower portion circling anteriorly (arch of cricoids cartilage). The posterior surface

of the lamina contains 2oval depressions, which serves as attachment sites for the posterior cricoarytenoid muscles, separated by a vertical midline ridge that serves as

an attachment to the oesophagus.

THYROID CARTILAGE: largest cartilage in larynx, articulates with cricoids at paired cricothyroid joints. Inner surface provides anterior point of attachment for vocal folds. Articulates with hyoid bone with superior cornu. Its formed by the right and left lamina that is separated posteriorly and joined together at an acute angle in the anterior midline, forming the laryngeal prominence, commonly known as Adams

apple.

EPIGLOTTIS: leaf-shaped cartilage; only cartilage not made of hyaline. Made of fibro cartilage. Sits medial to hyoid bone and thyroid cartilage. Protective structure in swallowing covers opening to larynx. It protects the larynx from aspirations of foods or liquids being swallowed. The depressions on either side of the median fold, between the root of the tongue and the epiglottis, are called the valleculae epiglottica.

ARYTENOID CARTILAGES: sit on top of posterior cricoids cartilages. Its the point of Posterior attachment for vocal folds and vocal ligaments. They are pyramidal in shape and have 3surfaces, a base and apex.

CORNICULATE CARTILAGES: sits on top of the arytenoids. The corniculate cartilages are 2small, club-shaped cartilages that articulate with the apices of the arytenoids cartilages, serving to extend them posteriorly and medially. They are located in the aryepiglottic folds of mucous membranes.

CUNEIFORM CARTILAGES: embedded in muscle adjacent to arytenoids. Stiffeners provide support to the aryepiglottic folds. They are two small, club-shaped cartilages that lie anterior to the corniculate cartilages in the aryepiglottic folds.

MUSCLES OF THE LARYNX

INTRINSIC LARYNGEAL MUSCLES

These smaller muscles, within the structure of the larynx, move the vocal folds in reference to each other: they abduct, adduct, and alter vocal fold shape; they also change the longitudinal tension.

EXTRINSIC LARYNGEAL MUSCLES These larger muscles, outside the larynx, position and support the larynx; they may move the cartilages, which in turn, stretch or compress the vocal cords.

LIGAMENTS OF THE LARYNX

EXTRINSIC LIGAMENTS: the ligaments connecting the thyroid cartilage with the hyoid
bone are the hyothyroid membrane, middle and two lateral hypothyroid ligaments.

Median hyothyroid ligament

THE LATERAL HYOTHYROID LIGAMENT (ligamentum hyothyreoideum laterale; lateral thyrohyoid ligament).

THE INTRINSIC LIGAMENTS Its beneath the mucus membrane of the larynx is a broad sheet of fibrous tissue containing many elastic fiber, termed the elastic membrane of the larynx. They include; CRICOTRACHEAL LIGAMENT

HYPOEPIGLOTIC LIGAMENT THYROEPIGLOTTIC LIGAMENT

MEMBRANES
Fibro elastic membrane Quadrangular membrane Thyrohyoid membrane Conus elasticus

LARYNGEAL PHYSIOLOGY: HOW IT WORKS

Understanding how the structures of the larynx work is a complicated process as it works aerodynamically, in response to the breath stream flowing through the glottis. Once you understand how the stream of air is chopped up to make the waves of sound, its quite simple to grasp the different ways in which that sound can be modified to change the pitch (i.e., singing high or low), the intensity (volume) or to switch registers.

HOW VIBRATION HAPPENS

THE BERNOULLI EFFECT

It is the scientific principle that draws the vocal folds together. The Bernoulli Effect is all around us. It is the main principle of lift, which causes airplane to fly and baseball to spin. A simple example of how the Bernoulli Effect works is experienced by a bicycle commuter everyday: riding along, a large truck passes her. Its speed creates an area of lower pressure, it draws in d surrounding air as it passes the cyclist, and she feels as if she is being sucked towards the truck-in fact she is! Another example is found in the tap in a high school science lab. The flow is constricted in a very narrow nozzle. Above the nozzle is a small hole, which draws in air to create a vacuum in experiments. The vocal folds are also drawn in by the Bernoulli Effect. The intrinsic muscles of the larynx bring the vocal folds together, theyapproximate them, so that the space between the folds, glottis, is essentially closed off. Once they are closed, the air stream creates a pressure against the closed vocal folds until they are blown apart. As the air rushes through the very narrow, constricted opening, it must accelerate to get through. The high speed air much like the truck in the example above creates suction perpendicular to the direction of its flowit draws the side of the opening in. In the Bernoulli Effect, increase in airflow results in air pressure decrease

Bernoulli Effect is a constant flow of air, at appoint of constriction there will be an increase in pressure at the constriction, an increase in velocity of flow, and a decrease in air pressure perpendicular to the flow.

THE WAVE
This is the simultaneous actions of the vocal folds and the mucosal wave.

PITCH CHANGE
Fundamental frequency: when speaking or singing there is always an underlying note to each sound.

INTENSITY CHANGE
Intensity is the size of the wave which controls volume.

MODES OF VIBRATION
regular or modal (chest- tone) falsetto (head-tone) glottal fry registers refers to the type of voice especially in singing attacks

HOW PHONATION OCCURS

Voice is produced by the following mechanism (aerodynamic myoelastic theory of voice production);

Vocal cords are kept adducted Infraglottic air pressure is generated by the exhaled air from the lungs due to contraction of thoracic and abdominal muscles

The air force open the cords and is released as small puffs which vibrates the vocal cords to produce sound which is amplified by the mouth, pharynx, nose and chest

The sound is converted into speech by the modulary action off the lips, tongue, palate, pharynx and teeth

Intensity of the sound depends on the air pressure produced by the lungs while pitch depends on the frequency with which the vocal cords vibrate

VOICE DISORDERS
These are medical conditions preventing the production of speech. This includes; Corditis Vocal fold nodules Vocal fold cysts Vocal cord paresis Reinkes oedema Spasmodic dysphonia Foreign accent syndrome Bogart-Bacall syndrome Laryngeal pappilomastosis

Puberphonia Laryngitis Diplophonia breathiness

FUNCTIONS OF LARYNX
Protection of lower airways

Phonation

Respiration

Fixation of the chest

REFERENCE
1. Titze, I.R (1994). Principles of voice production 2. Lieberman, Philip; Sheila Blumstein (1988). Speech physiology, speech perception and acoustic phonetics 3. Greene, Margaret; Lesley Matheson (2001). The voice and its disorders. John Wiley and sons; 6th edition. 4. Zemlin, Willard (1998). Speech and hearing science: anatomy and physiology. Allyn and bacon; 4th edition 5. Titze, I.R (2006). The myoelastic aerodynamic theory of phonation 6. McKinney, James (1994). The diagnosis and correction of vocal faults