Thyroid Cartilage
The thyroid cartilage is a collection of tissues located at the centre anterior neck.
Of the nine cartilages* of the larynx (3 single and 2 pairs), the thyroid cartilage is the largest.
It is located below the hyoid bone and above the trachea ('windpipe') and forms the bulk of the front wall of the larynx, protecting vocal folds (often called 'vocal cords') which are behind it.
The thyroid cartilage is an attachment for several muscles.
*
See the page about Facial Muscles to view the location of the thyroid cartilage. (This page consists of an interactive, rather than just a labelled, diagram, so you'll have to test yourself by guessing where the thyroid cartilage is until you find the correct label.)
More about Muscles:
- The structure of muscle tissue and the structure of muscle cells
- Labelled diagrams of the muscles in different parts of the body including anterior muscles, posterior muscles and facial muscles
- Various other pages about e.g. types of muscle contractions, movements at joints, muscular disorders and related topics such as books about sports medicine
Click for pages about muscles
- Anterior Muscles
- Posterior Muscles
- Facial Muscles
- Muscle Terminology (Definitions)
- 1. Structure of Muscle
- 2. Structure of Muscle Cells
- 3. Muscle Filaments
- 4. Sliding Filament Theory
- 5. Neuromuscular Junction
- 6. Actions at Neuromuscular Junction
- Types of Muscle Contractions
- Muscular Disorders
- Effects of exercise on muscles
