Book 4 - Self Instructional Manual for Cancer Registrars - SEER ...

The larynx can be divided into three anatomic subsites: the supraglottis, glottis, and subglottis.• The supraglottis includes the posterior (laryngeal) surface of the epiglottis, the aryepiglotticfolds, the arytenoids, and the ventricular bands (false cords). The epiglottis guards thesuperior opening of the larynx. The aryepiglottic folds are folds of tissue which border theepiglottis and make up the sides of the entrance to the larynx.• The glottis consists of the true vocal cords including the anterior and posteriorcommissures. The vocal cords stretch across the cavity of the larynx from the thyroidcartilage to the anterior borders of the arytenoid cartilages.• The subglottis lies below the true cords and extends to the inferior border of the cricoidcartilage.The laryngeal branches of the thyroid arteries supply the blood for the larynx. The venousdrainage is by way of the laryngeal tributaries of the thyroid veins into the internal jugular veins.The principal lymph node drainage for the larynx is to the internal jugular and anterior cervicalnodes. Anterior cervical nodes are the prelaryngeal, pretracheal, paratracheal, and lateral tracheal(recurrent laryngeal) nodes. Bilateral involvement is common, and spread to submandibular andsubmental nodes may sometimes occur.Figure 17B. THE ANATOMIC SUBSITES OF THE LARYNX144