larynx

Etymology

larynx.]] Borrowed from New Latin larynx, from Ancient Greek λᾰ́ρῠγξ (lárunx, “larynx; windpipe; gullet, throat”).

noun

1. (anatomy, zootomy) A hollow muscular organ of the neck of mammals situated just below where the tract of the pharynx splits into the trachea and the oesophagus. It is involved in breath control and protection of the trachea, and, because it houses the vocal cords, sound production.
   Meronyms: epilarynx, hypolarynx, orolarynx
   There is one thing, among abundance of others, in Anatomy, which has always much affected me with Admiration, … It is the Situation and Elaſticity of the Epiglottis, a ſoft Cartilaginous Cover to the Larynx, or Orifice of the Wind-pipe; that this Epiglottis ſhould, all a Man's life, be drawn up, for the Benefit of Reſpiration, and fall down and ſhut, whilſt every bit we eat, and every drop we drink, paſſes over it into the Gullet and Stomach; and that we ſhould ſo ſeldom have Occaſion to cough up a crum, or drop, that may accidentaly ſlip into the Larynx; … 1727, Walter Harris, “Section II. Of the Wonderful Works of God.”, in The Great and Wonderful Works of God Humbly Represented: And the Just and Equal Distributions of Providence Demonstrated.[…], London: James Roberts[…], →OCLC, pages 29–30
   The differences in the voices of man and woman cannot but have been always obſerved; and their larynxes exhibit, on a merely ſuperficial inſpection, a great diſproportion in ſize. 1819, Abraham Rees, “LARYNX”, in The Cyclopædia; or, Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature. … In Thirty-nine Volumes, volume XX, London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, & Brown,[…] [et al.], →OCLC, column 1
   I hope to be understood as not implying that there is no peculiarity of the larynges and tracheæ, except in some genera; for I believe all have the admirable mechanism of the organ of voice differently constructed, with corresponding muscles, and distribution of nerves, producing those various modulations of sound so familiar to us, and destined for the excitement of love, as well as for other purposes. 16 March 1830, Joshua Brookes, “XXIX. On the Remarkable Formation of the Trachea In the Egyptian Tantalus”, in The Transactions of the Linnean Society of London, volume XVI, London: Richard Taylor,[…]; Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longman,[…]; William Wood,[…], published 1833, →OCLC, page 502
   The work on larynx transplantation has been discussed in the previous paragraphs. Corollary to this is the possible development of an artificial larynx which can be implanted just as an artificial heart might be implanted. Design of such larynxes might permit a quick solution to the problem of tissue rejection. 25 April 1968, John E. Bordley (witness), Departments of Labor, and Health, Education, and Welfare Appropriations for 1969: Hearings before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, Ninetieth Congress, Second Session:[…], part 7 (Members of Congress, Interested Individuals and Organizations), Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 259
   The ability of Red Deer stags to lower their larynx when roaring appears to be one of the exaggerators of formant dispersal, since the resting position of the male larynx is already lower than the typical mammalian position. … Size exaggeration provides an intriguing, non-linguistic explanation for the descent of the human larynx …. 2003, John Maynard Smith, David Harper, “Indices of Quality”, in Animal Signals, Oxford, Oxforshire, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, published 2004, 4.2 Are Mammalian Sounds Reliable Indices of Size?, page 47
   Study of intubated larynges from infants of 22 to 40 weeks' gestation who survived a few hours to 300 days showed acute injury was almost invariable, and up to 100% of the subglottic epithelium was lost within a few hour of intubation, but progression of injury was relatively short-lived. 2015, George H. Zalzal, Robin Thomas Cotton, “Glottic and Subglottic Stenosis”, in Marci M. Lesperance, Paul W. Flint, Cummings Pediatric Otolaryngology, Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders, Elsevier, 6: Pharynx, Larynx, Trachea, and Esophagus, page 350, column 2