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Arytenoid cartilage: anatomy, location and function

The arytenoid cartilages are a pair of pyramid-shaped cartilages at the back of the larynx. They move the vocal folds by rotating and sliding to open, close and tension the glottis.

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Highlighted in the model: Arytenoid cartilage. Click any part to read about it, or switch off “Highlight topic” to see the whole body. 3D data: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0; meshes simplified and recoloured. The model is an adult male.

Arytenoid cartilage at a glance

What it is
The arytenoid cartilages are a pair of pyramid-shaped cartilages at the back of the larynx.
Location
They sit on the superior border of the cricoid lamina, posterior to the thyroid cartilage.
Function
They move the vocal folds by rotating and sliding to open, close and tension the glottis.
Body system
Respiratory · paired (left and right)
FMA ID
FMA55114 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • Each has a vocal process (vocal ligament attachment) and a muscular process (attachment of the posterior and lateral cricoarytenoid muscles).
  • Mostly hyaline cartilage; the apex and vocal process are elastic cartilage.

Structures next to the arytenoid cartilage

The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Arytenoid cartilage (FMA55114). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
  2. OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §22.1 Organs and Structures of the Respiratory System. Rice University, 2022.
  3. Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.

Related anatomy

Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.