Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🦴 Neck cartilage area 💪 Neck muscle
cricothyroid

cricothyroid

9.9
A muscle between the cricoid and thyroid cartilages that tightens the vocal cords to change pitch
  • noun
  • /ˌkraɪkəˈθaɪrɔɪd/
  • Specialized
: músculo cricotiroideo
  • Understanding the role of the cricothyroid is essential for voice training and vocal health.

Examples

  • We feel that surgeons who are familiar with the NIM-2 nerve monitoring system should be comfortable enough with using the endotracheal tube and cricothyroid electrodes that the assistance of a neurophysiologist is not necessary.

    Academic text (2005)

  • The alternative is to puncture the cricothyroid membrane with a 27-gauge needle and instill 2 to 4 ml of 4% lidocaine transtracheally.

    Academic text (2004)

  • I think the cricothyroid membrane is here.

    The Heat (2013)

  • Inferior extension can take a cyst through the cricothyroid membrane and into the paratracheal region.

    Academic text (2009)

  • A number of muscles and ligaments work with the larynx to make sound, but two muscle pairs, the thyroarytenoids and the cricothyroids, are primarily responsible for what we commonly call head voice and chest voice.

    Academic text (2005)

  • The cricothyroid muscle helps singers adjust their pitch by stretching the vocal cords.

  • During the surgery, the doctor carefully examined the cricothyroid to ensure it was functioning properly.

Surface Forms

cricothyroid singular
cricothyroids plural

Morphology

cricothyroid = cricoid + thyroid (transparent) = crico + thyroid

The noun names the muscle located between the cricoid and thyroid cartilages; this is a straightforward compound of the two anatomical terms.

Etymology

Cricothyroid combines crico- ('ring') and thyroid ('shield'). The cricothyroid muscle sits between those two cartilages and tightens the vocal cords to change the pitch of your voice.