Anatomical landmarks for endosonography of the larynx

Abstract

A precise knowledge of anatomy is necessary to allow a correct interpretation of sonographic images when investigating a particular region of the body. The objective of the present study was to establish anatomical landmarks for endosonography of the larynx. In an experimental study, a total of 32 normal human larynges were examined endosonographically, and the classical landmarks were correlated to horizontal whole-organ sections of the scanned specimens. All laryngeal specimens showed a similar and reproducible sonoanatomy, which could be verified consistently on corresponding histological cross sections. Anatomical structures readily identified included the laryngeal framework, the vocal ligament, the vocal muscle, the ventricular fold, the preepiglottic and paraglottic space, and the epiglottis. Due to a reproducible sonoanatomy of the larynx, endosonography might be an interesting complementary tool in the diagnostic investigation of laryngeal lesions such as medium-sized tumors, cysts, laryngoceles, and stenoses.