Cricoid cartilage at a glance
- What it is
- The cricoid cartilage is a complete signet-ring-shaped cartilage forming the lower part of the larynx.
- Location
- It lies at the level of C6, below the thyroid cartilage and above the first tracheal ring.
- Function
- It supports the airway and articulates with the arytenoid and thyroid cartilages, helping control vocal fold tension and position.
- Body system
- Respiratory · single, midline structure
- FMA ID
- FMA9615 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- It is the only complete ring of cartilage in the airway.
- The broad lamina lies posteriorly.
Clinical relevance
The cricothyroid membrane just above it is the site for emergency cricothyrotomy.
Structures next to the cricoid cartilage
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- Conus elasticus · respiratory
- Oblique part of cricothyroid · muscular
- Posterior crico-arytenoid · muscular
- Straight part of cricothyroid · muscular
- Lateral crico-arytenoid · muscular
- Vocalis · muscular
- Vocal ligament · respiratory
- Transverse arytenoid · muscular
- Arytenoid cartilage · respiratory
- Oblique arytenoid · muscular
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: Cricoid cartilage (FMA9615). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
- OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §22.1 Organs and Structures of the Respiratory System. Rice University, 2022.
- 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.