Cricoid cartilage
Last revised by Yoshi Yu ◉ on 13 Apr 2023
Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
Citation:
Spencer T, Yu Y, Hacking C, et al. Cricoid cartilage. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 04 Oct 2023) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-44514
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rID:
44514
Article created:
26 Apr 2016, Tom Spencer
Disclosures:
At the time the article was created Tom Spencer had no recorded disclosures.
View Tom Spencer's current disclosuresLast revised:
13 Apr 2023, Yoshi Yu ◉
Disclosures:
At the time the article was last revised Yoshi Yu had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.
View Yoshi Yu's current disclosuresRevisions:
13 times, by 9 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures
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The cricoid cartilage is a ring-shaped structure that sits below the thyroid cartilage and above the tracheal rings, at the level of the C6 vertebra. It is the only complete cartilaginous ring of the whole airway.
Gross anatomy
It consists of a thinner anterior portion, called the arch and a broad flattened posterior portion called the lamina. The lamina articulates superiorly with the the arytenoid cartilages and laterally with the inferior horn of the thyroid cartilage by synovial joints. It is attached to the other laryngeal cartilages by muscles and tendons.
Attachments
Muscular
Intrinsic muscles:
Extrinsic muscles:
cricopharyngeus muscle (component of the inferior pharyngeal constrictor)
Ligamentous
Intrinsic ligaments:
cricovocal membrane (conus elasticus)
Extrinsic ligaments:
cricothyroid membrane, which is thickened medially as the median cricothyroid ligament
cricotracheal ligament
Anatomical variants
arch of cricoid cartilage 5
Quiz questions
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References
- 1. Mcminn. Last's Anatomy. Elsevier Australia. (2003) ISBN:0729537528. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon
- 2. Moore KL, Agur AMR, Dalley AF. Clinically oriented anatomy. LWW. ISBN:1451119453. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon
- 3. Butler P, Mitchell A, Healy JC. Applied Radiological Anatomy. Cambridge University Press. (2012) ISBN:0521766664. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon
- 4. Mathews S, Jain S. Anatomy, Head and Neck, Cricoid Cartilage. [Updated 2019 Mar 13]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2019 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK539821/
- 5. Garbelotti JS, Garbelotti RP, Garbelotti LB, Garbelotti MS, Garbelotti AeAL, Garbelotti dML, Garbelotti. Arch of cricoid cartilage anatomical variation: morphological and radiological aspects. (2019) Surgical and radiologic anatomy : SRA. doi:10.1007/s00276-018-2174-2 - Pubmed
- 6. Shibin Mathews & Sameer Jain. Anatomy, Head and Neck, Cricoid Cartilage. StatPearls Publishing. 2022. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK539821/ - Pubmed
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