Larynx & Thyroid Nerve Supply
The Larynx Nerve supply brought to you by REV Med on MEDizzy! The larynx is located in the anterior neck and is supspended by the hyoid bone! Following it down, it continues into the Trachea. Larynx Nerve Supply: The recurrent laryngeal nerve and the superior laryngeal nerve are branches of the vagus nerve (CN 10). The Superior Laryngeal Nerve (external branch) innervates the cricothyroid muscle, which tenses and adducts the vocal cords. Injury to the nerve can produce changes in voice quality, but is generally not dangerous. The are two recurrent laryngeal nerves; one left and one right. They arise from their respective vagus nerves, and descend into the chest. In the chest, they hook around the subclavian artery (right RL nerve), or the arch of aorta (left RL nerve). The nerves then ascend back up the neck, running between the trachea and esophagus. They pass underneath the thyroid gland to innervate the larynx. During surgery on the thyroid gland, care must be taken not to ligate or damage the recurrent laryngeal nerves. Check us out on Instagram @rev.med Get a feel for all the nerves in this area and which path they travel, cross reference this with the artery diagram. Want to see more of this? Please support us by subscribing to our YouTube channel! (link in bio) This diagram was Inspired by @the_littlemedic !