Thyroarytenoid Muscle, Posterior View

Description

Arising from the inner surface of the thyroid cartilage and coursing posteriorly toward the arytenoid cartilage, the thyroarytenoid muscle is shown as an intrinsic laryngeal muscle lying immediately lateral to the vocal ligament, with its medial fibers often referred to as the vocalis. From this posterior perspective, the paired arytenoid cartilages sit superior to the broad lamina of the cricoid cartilage, and the posterior cricoarytenoid muscles occupy the posterior surface of the cricoid on either side of the midline. Inferiorly, the airway continues into the proximal trachea, where the C shaped tracheal rings frame the lumen. Functionally, the thyroarytenoid acts to shorten and relax the vocal fold, counterbalancing the cricothyroid in pitch control and contributing to fine adjustments in phonation through the vocalis fibers adjacent to the vocal ligament. This relationship becomes clinically concrete during laryngeal electromyography and phonosurgery, where differentiating thyroarytenoid activity from posterior cricoarytenoid function helps localize recurrent laryngeal nerve injury and guides treatment in unilateral vocal fold paralysis. Small distances matter here. Use this posterior larynx view for gross anatomy and head and neck courses when teaching the intrinsic laryngeal muscles in relation to the cricoarytenoid joints, and for otolaryngology texts discussing glottic insufficiency, injection laryngoplasty targets, and posterior airway landmarks. It also supports speech language pathology materials on mechanisms of pitch and timbre control at the level of the vocal fold. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.