A Morphometrical Study of Laryngeal Cartilages

Abstract

Morphometrical examinations of the triticeous and thyroid cartilages were carried out on 232 autopsy cases, the age of which was between 0 and 90 years. 1. The triticeous cartilage was more frequently found in males than in females. Bilateral presence was more frequent than unilateral presence. 2. The length of superior horn was usually shortened by the presence of triticeous cartilage. This was notable in the cases of unilateral presence. 3. The inclined angle of superior horn was not constant with age and while ageing it showed antero-medial inclination in male, whereas postero-lateral inclination in female. 4. Only some of the male cases over the age of 39 years showed anterior inclination of less than 90°. 5. Most of the superior horns were straight as a whole, but in some cases over the age of 19 years the horns were bent forward or backward. Our result that the length of superior horn was related to the presence of triticeous cartilage, and that the inclined angle of it was varied by age and sex serves not only to identify a body but also to consider the fracture of superior horn at cervical oppression.