{{Short description|Elastic membrane in the larynx}} {{Infobox ligament | Name = Thyrohyoid membrane | Latin = membrana thyrohyoidea, membrana hyothyreoidea | Image = Larynx external en.svg | Caption = The ligaments of the larynx. Antero-lateral view. | Image2 = | Caption2 = | From = | To = | MeshYear = |System=[[Skeletal system|skeletal]]}} The '''thyrohyoid membrane''' (or '''hyothyroid membrane''') is a broad, fibro-elastic sheet of the [[larynx]]. It connects the upper border of the [[thyroid cartilage]] to the [[hyoid bone]].
== Structure == The thyrohyoid membrane is attached below to the upper border of the [[thyroid cartilage]] and to the front of its [[superior cornu]], and above to the upper margin of the posterior surface of the body and [[greater cornu]] of the [[hyoid bone]].<ref name=":0">{{Citation|last1=Coleman|first1=Lee|title=Chapter 1 - Functional Anatomy of the Airway|date=2013-01-01|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9781437727647000014|work=Benumof and Hagberg's Airway Management (Third Edition)|pages=3–20.e2|editor-last=Hagberg|editor-first=Carin A.|place=Philadelphia|publisher=W.B. Saunders|language=en|isbn=978-1-4377-2764-7|access-date=2021-01-06|last2=Zakowski|first2=Mark|last3=Gold|first3=Julian A.|last4=Ramanathan|first4=Sivam}}</ref> It passes behind the posterior surface of the body of the hyoid. It is separated from the hyoid bone by a mucous [[Bursa (anatomy)|bursa]], which allows for the upward movement of the larynx during [[swallowing]].<ref name=":0" />
Its middle thicker part is termed the [[median thyrohyoid ligament]].<ref name=":0" /> Its lateral thinner portions are pierced by the superior laryngeal vessels and the internal branch of the [[superior laryngeal nerve]].<ref name=":0" /> Its anterior surface is in relation with the [[thyrohyoid muscle]], [[sternohyoid muscle]], and [[omohyoideus muscle|omohyoid muscle]]s, and with the body of the hyoid bone. It is pierced by the [[superior laryngeal nerve]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last1=Barral|first1=Jean-Pierre|title=Visceral vascular manipulations|last2=Croibier|first2=Alain|publisher=[[Churchill Livingstone]] / [[Elsevier]]|year=2011|isbn=978-0-7020-4351-2|location=[[Edinburgh]]|pages=166–181|language=en|chapter=22 - Vessels of the thyroid|doi=10.1016/B978-0-7020-4351-2.00022-3|oclc=805158376}}</ref> It is also pierced the [[superior thyroid artery]], where there is a thickening of the membrane.<ref name=":1" />
== Clinical significance ==
=== Superior laryngeal artery === The thyrohyoid membrane needs to be manipulated to access the [[superior thyroid artery]].<ref name=":1" />
== History == The thyrohyoid membrane refers to the two structures it connects: the [[thyroid cartilage]] and the [[hyoid bone]]. It may also be known as the hyothyroid membrane, where the two structures are reversed.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bruyn|first=G. W.|date=1983-12-01|title=Superior Laryngeal Neuralgia|url=https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1468-2982.1983.0304235.x|journal=Cephalalgia|language=en|volume=3|issue=4|pages=235–240|doi=10.1046/j.1468-2982.1983.0304235.x|pmid=6640657 |s2cid=45793498 |issn=0333-1024|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
== Additional images == <gallery> File:Slide14e.JPG|Thyrohyoid membrane File:Slide8ss.JPG|Thyrohyoid membrane File:Slide11lll.JPG|Thyrohyoid membrane File:Slide2deded.JPG|Muscles, nerves and arteries of neck. Deep dissection. Anterior view. </gallery>
== References == {{Gray's}} <references />
== External links == * {{cite web|url=http://www.tk.de/rochelexikon/pics/s25420.000-1.html|title=Anatomy diagram: 25420.000-1|work= Roche Lexicon - illustrated navigator|publisher= Elsevier|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226040726/http://www.tk.de/rochelexikon/pics/s25420.000-1.html|archivedate=2015-02-26}} * {{NormanAnatomy|lesson11}} ({{NormanAnatomyFig|larynxmembranes}}) * {{UMichAtlas|rsa3p11}} - "Larynx, anterior view" * {{UMichAtlas|rsa3p12}} - "Larynx, lateral view"
{{Larynx anatomy}} {{Portal bar|Anatomy}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Human head and neck]]