Your voice box isn’t really a box. It also does more than let you sing along with your favorite pop stars. In addition to making sound, the voice box, or larynx (pronounced LARE-inks) helps with breathing and protects your airway when you swallow.
The larynx is located midway between your chin and sternum (or breastbone). There’s a bump in the middle called the laryngeal prominence, otherwise known as the Adam’s apple. The bump is present in boys and girls, but it gets bigger in boys when they go through puberty.
Most mammals have a drawback when it comes to breathing and eating. Because you breathe and swallow through the same opening, there’s a risk of choking if food accidentally gets into the trachea (or windpipe).
Some mammals, such as dolphins, don’t have this problem because they use their mouth only for eating. The blowhole, which is on top of their head, directs air to the lungs.
For less fortunate mammals, such as humans, a safeguard is required to prevent you from aspirating (accidentally inhaling) food or liquids when you eat. Otherwise, the waffles you eat for breakfast could end up in your lungs instead of your stomach.
A flap of cartilage called the epiglottis protects the opening to the larynx. When you eat, the larynx rises about an inch. You can feel this by placing a hand on your Adam’s apple and feeling it move when you swallow. As the larynx rises, the epiglottis is forced down, covering the trachea (TRAY-kee-uh) like a toilet seat lid covers a toilet bowl.
Your vocal cords are inside the larynx. They’re made of a strong elastic tissue that stretches from back to front across the voice box.
Share this articleShareVocal cords are the human version of a reed. Just like the reeds of wind instruments vibrate to make music, vocal cords vibrate to create sound. Of course, when you’re first learning to sing or use an instrument, what comes out of the opening may not sound like music!
When you breathe, the vocal cords relax and open to allow air in and out of the trachea. When you talk, they close and vibrate as air moves out of your lungs. Muscles inside the larynx can stretch to make the vocal cords tighter or looser.
Tighter vocal cords produce higher-pitched sounds, and looser ones produce lower-pitched sounds. Men have deeper voices than women because their vocal cords are longer and thicker. The force of exhaled air determines how loud the sound is.
Your trachea is basically a continuation of the larynx. It’s made of rings of cartilage connected by a tough membrane.
If food or liquid touches the opening to the larynx, it triggers a reflex that causes dramatic gagging and coughing to force the offending substance out of your airway.
That’s one reason it's a bad idea to toss food in the air and try to catch it in your mouth. You may think this is fun, but the chances of choking on the food instead of swallowing it are very high.
So don't be flashy, be smart — pay attention when you're eating and always eat while you're sitting down.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZLmqssSsq7KklWS4qrDSqaasrF%2BdvLh52Kisq2WmpLaksYywpqujo2Kur7CMsJ%2ByZaSdsm6yzqibZrGfqnqmrdNmm6ido6PBbrHNnWSuqF2eu27Fzq6pZqSlo7S0e5FpaHBnYGh8c4GOcGdummFosKJ5j5tqbmVhZrJ4ecFwbpxlYGWBeLCQbphrbJVlrLTAzquwZ6Ckork%3D