The vestibular fold (ventricular fold, superior or false vocal cord) is one of two thick folds of

mucous membrane A mucous membrane or mucosa is a membrane that lines various cavities in the body of an organism and covers the surface of internal organs. It consists of one or more layers of epithelial cells overlying a layer of loose connective tissue. It is ...

, each enclosing a narrow band of fibrous tissue, the vestibular ligament, which is attached in front to the angle of the

thyroid cartilage The thyroid cartilage is the largest of the nine cartilages that make up the ''laryngeal skeleton'', the cartilage structure in and around the trachea that contains the larynx. It does not completely encircle the larynx (only the cricoid cartilage ...

immediately below the attachment of the

epiglottis The epiglottis is a leaf-shaped flap in the throat that prevents food and water from entering the trachea and the lungs. It stays open during breathing, allowing air into the larynx. During swallowing, it closes to prevent aspiration of food int ...

, and behind to the antero-lateral surface of the

arytenoid cartilage The arytenoid cartilages () are a pair of small three-sided pyramids which form part of the larynx. They are the site of attachment of the vocal cords. Each is pyramidal or ladle-shaped and has three surfaces, a base, and an apex. The arytenoid ...

, a short distance above the

vocal process In the human larynx, the vocal process is the anterior angle of the base of the arytenoid cartilage, as it projects horizontally forward and gives attachment to the vocal ligament. The arytenoids are paired cartilages with a medial and a lateral ...

. The lower border of this ligament, enclosed in

, forms a free crescentic margin, which constitutes the upper boundary of the

ventricle of the larynx The laryngeal ventricle, (also called the ventricle of the larynx, laryngeal sinus, or Morgagni's sinus)respiratory epithelium Respiratory epithelium, or airway epithelium, is a type of ciliated columnar epithelium found lining most of the respiratory tract as respiratory mucosa, where it serves to moisten and protect the airways. It is not present in the vocal cords o ...

, while true vocal cords have stratified

squamous epithelium Epithelium or epithelial tissue is one of the four basic types of animal tissue, along with connective tissue, muscle tissue and nervous tissue. It is a thin, continuous, protective layer of compactly packed cells with a little intercellula ...

Function

The vestibular folds of the larynx play a significant role in the maintenance of the laryngeal functions of breathing and preventing food and drink from entering the airway during swallowing. They aid phonation (

speech Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses Phonetics, phonetic combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all English words sound different from all French words, even if ...

) by suppressing

dysphonia A hoarse voice, also known as dysphonia or hoarseness, is when the voice involuntarily sounds breathy, raspy, or strained, or is softer in volume or lower in pitch. A hoarse voice, can be associated with a feeling of unease or scratchiness in the ...

. In some ethnic singing and chanting styles, such as in Tuva, Sardinia, Mongolia, South Africa and Tibet (...) the vestibular folds may be used in co-oscillation with the vocal folds, producing very low or high pitched sounds(most of the time, one octave higher). Conversely, people who have had their epiglottis removed because of cancer do not choke any more than when it was present.

Society and culture

They have a minimal role in normal

phonation The term phonation has slightly different meanings depending on the subfield of phonetics. Among some phoneticians, ''phonation'' is the process by which the vocal folds produce certain sounds through quasi-periodic vibration. This is the defini ...

, but are often used to produce deep sonorous tones in

Tuvan throat singing Tuvan throat singing, the main technique of which is known as ''khoomei'' ( tyv, хөөмей, xöömej, mn, хөөмий; ᠬᠦᠭᠡᠮᠡᠢ, khöömii, russian: хоомей, Chinese: 呼麦, pinyin: ''hūmài''), includes a type of overt ...

, as well as in musical screaming and the

death growl A death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other extreme subgenres of heavy metal music. Death growl vocals are sometimes criticized for their ...

singing style used in various forms of

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

. Simultaneous voicing with the vocal and vestibular folds is

diplophonia Diplophonia, also known as diphthongia, is a phenomenon in which a voice is perceived as being produced with two concurrent pitches. Diplophonia is a result of vocal fold vibrations that are quasi-periodic in nature. It has been reported from old ...

. Some voice actors occasionally employ small amounts of this phonation for its dark, growling quality while portraying a "villainous" or antagonistic voice.

References

External links

* (, ) * {{Authority control Human head and neck

Function

Society and culture

See also

References

External links