LARYNX
larynx, voice box
(noun) a cartilaginous structure at the top of the trachea; contains elastic vocal cords that are the source of the vocal tone in speech
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
larynx (plural larynges or larynxes)
(anatomy) An organ of the neck of mammals situated just below where the tract of the pharynx splits into the trachea and the oesophagus (or esophagus). It is involved in breath control and protection of the trachea, and, because it houses the vocal cords, sound production.
Synonym: voice box (informal)
Source: Wiktionary
Lar"ynx, n. [ (Anat.)
Definition: The expanded upper end of the windpipe or trachea, connected
with the hyoid bone or cartilage. It contains the vocal cords, which
produce the voice by their vibrations, when they are stretched and a
current of air passes between them. The larynx is connected with the
pharynx by an opening, the glottis, which, in mammals, is protected
by a lidlike epiglottis.
Note: In the framework of the human larynx, the thyroid cartilage,
attached to the hyoid bone, makes the protuberance on the front of
the neck known as Adam's apple, and is articulated below to the
ringlike cricoid cartilage. This is narrow in front and high behind,
where, within the thyroid, it is surmounted by the two arytenoid
cartilages, from which the vocal cords pass forward to be attached
together to the front of the thyroid. See Syrinx.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition