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 i ...
, 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 in ...
, and behind to the antero-lateral surface of the
arytenoid cartilage, 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
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 i ...
, forms a free crescentic margin, which constitutes the upper boundary of the
ventricle of the larynx.
They are lined with
respiratory epithelium, 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) 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, 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 the ...
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. Some voice actors occasionally employ small amounts of this phonation for its dark, growling quality while portraying a "villainous" or antagonistic voice.
See also
*
Vocal folds
In humans, vocal cords, also known as vocal folds or voice reeds, are folds of throat tissues that are key in creating sounds through vocalization. The size of vocal cords affects the pitch of voice. Open when breathing and vibrating for speec ...
*
Larynx
References
External links
* (, )
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{{Authority control
Human head and neck