The clinical interest of the ary-thyro-cricoid fascicle

Abstract

The aim of this work was to study the prevalence and form of the ary-thyro- cricoid (ATC) muscular fascicle, a variable muscular slip connecting the oblique and/or transverse arytenoid muscles with the thyroarytenoid (TA) and/or lat- eral cricoarytenoid (LCA) muscles resembling a sphincter encircling the glottis. Thirty larynges obtained from necropsies of individuals with no known laryn- geal pathology were dissected. The ATC fascicle was observed in 96.7% of the larynges. It appeared bilaterally in 60% of subjects and unilaterally in 36.7%. The posterior attachment of the muscular slip was observed to be in common with either the transverse arytenoid (34%), or the oblique arytenoid (28%) or both muscles (38%). Its fibers terminated by intermingling with either those of the LCA muscle (10.6%), or the TA muscle (38.3%) or both (51.1%). These variable attachments mean that there are nine possible variants of this muscu- lar fascicle. The ATC fascicle was supplied by branches originating bilaterally from the recurrent laryngeal (RLN) and internal laryngeal nerves. The exis- tence of this ATC fascicle could explain the variable position (intermediate, paramedian or lateral) adopted by the vocal folds after lesion of the RLN. The bilateral disposition and innervation of the fascicle could also complicate the interpretation of electromyographic techniques used for testing laryngeal nerve function.