Latin Plica aryepiglottica FMA 55448 | TA A06.2.09.003 | |
 | ||
Aryepiglottic fold is a triangular opening at the entrance of the larynx that is narrow in front, wide behind, and sloping obliquely downward and backward. It is bound, in front, by the epiglottis; behind, by the apices of the arytenoid cartilages, the corniculate cartilages, and the interarytenoid notch; and on either side, by a fold of mucous membrane, enclosing ligamentous and muscular fibers, stretched between the side of the epiglottis and the apex of the arytenoid cartilage; this is the aryepiglottic fold, on the posterior part of the margin of which the cuneiform cartilage forms a more or less distinct whitish prominence, the cuneiform tubercle. These folds form the upper borders of the quadrangular membrane. The aryepiglottic folds are shortened in laryngomalacia.
Phonatory mechanism
Under certain circumstances, the aryepiglottic folds take part in phonation, for instance in the singing technique of vocal growl, such as practiced by Louis Armstrong and other jazz singers. It has been proven that the approximation of the aryepiglottic folds during vocalization may establish sustained co-oscillations, at relatively low frequencies, producing the growl or growling effect.