Vestibular folds
Plicae vestibulares
Also known as: false vocal cords, ventricular folds
Paired thick, pink mucosal folds above the vocal folds that protect the airway and lubricate the vocal folds but take little part in normal voice production.
Overview
Each vestibular fold covers the vestibular ligament, the thickened lower free edge of the quadrangular membrane, and contains many seromucous glands and some muscle fibres. The gap between the two folds is the rima vestibuli, wider than the rima glottidis. Between each vestibular and vocal fold is the laryngeal ventricle, whose anterior extension, the saccule, contains glands that secrete mucus onto the vocal folds.
The vestibular folds adduct during swallowing and in effort closure (they resist outward pressure better than inward pressure, so they hold air within the thorax during straining). Phonation using them (ventricular dysphonia) produces a rough, low-pitched voice.
- Location
In the larynx above the vocal folds, separated from them by the laryngeal ventricle.
Anatomy
- Innervation
Sensory: internal laryngeal nerve.
- Histology
Ciliated pseudostratified columnar epithelium with numerous seromucous glands and lymphoid aggregates.
Function
- Second level of laryngeal sphincteric closure.
- Lubricate the vocal folds (saccular glands).
- Help retain intrathoracic pressure during effort closure.
Clinical significance
Laryngocele
Dilatation of the saccule, filled with air, seen in glass-blowers and wind-instrument players; it can bulge through the thyrohyoid membrane as a neck swelling that enlarges on Valsalva. Secondary laryngoceles may hide a ventricular carcinoma.
Compiled from standard anatomy and physiology references — see the Respiratory System sources. For education only; not medical advice.