Sexual Dimorphism in the Human Vocal Fold Innervation

Summary This study investigated the sexual dimorphism in the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) and thyroarytenoid (TA) muscle, which control the vocal fold. The RLN and TA were bilaterally studied in human specimens obtained from necropsies (seven men and seven women). Analysis of the morphometric par...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of voice 2013-05, Vol.27 (3), p.267-272
Main Authors: de Campos, Deivis, Ellwanger, Joel Henrique, do Nascimento, Patrícia Severo, da Rosa, Helen Tais, Saur, Lisiani, Jotz, Geraldo Pereira, Xavier, Léder Leal
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Experiments
Female
Humans
Laryngeal Muscles - anatomy & histology
Larynx
Male
Middle Aged
Otolaryngology
Recurrent laryngeal nerve
Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve - anatomy & histology
Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve - physiology
Science
Sex Characteristics
Sex Factors
Sexual dimorphism
Thyroarytenoid muscle
Vocal Cords - innervation
Voice
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Summary:Summary This study investigated the sexual dimorphism in the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) and thyroarytenoid (TA) muscle, which control the vocal fold. The RLN and TA were bilaterally studied in human specimens obtained from necropsies (seven men and seven women). Analysis of the morphometric parameters showed that the RLN of the men were significantly larger, as shown by the intraperineural area (42.5%) ( P = 0.006), total number of fibers (38.0%) ( P = 0.0002), axonal area (34.3%) ( P = 0.0001), axonal diameter (19.0%) ( P = 0.0001), and the area of the nerve occupied by myelinated fibers (34.9%) ( P = 0.001). By contrast, in women, our results showed that the area of the RLN occupied by endoneurial connective tissue was larger (5.7%) ( P = 0.001). Estimation of the fiber area and shape coefficient showed that the histologic organization of TA is similar in men and women. These results may contribute toward enhancing our understanding about the voice neurobiology.
ISSN:0892-1997
1873-4588
DOI:10.1016/j.jvoice.2012.12.008