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Epiglottis

 

 
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Epiglottis
 
 
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The epiglottis is a flap of elastic cartilage
Elastic cartilage

Elastic cartilage or yellow cartilage is a type of cartilage present in the outer ear, larynx, and epiglottis. It contains elastic fiber networks and collagen fibers....
 tissue covered with a mucous membrane
Mucous membrane

The mucous membranes are linings of mostly germ layer origin, covered in epithelium, which are involved in absorption and secretion. They line various body cavities that are exposed to the external environment and internal organ ....
, attached to the root of the tongue
Tongue

The tongue is skeletal muscle on the floor of the mouth that manipulates food for chewing . It is the primary organ of taste. Much of the upper surface of the tongue is covered in papillae and taste buds....
. It projects obliquely upwards behind the tongue and the hyoid bone. It, along with the tonsils
Tonsil

Palatine tonsils, occasionally called the faucial tonsils, are the tonsils that can be seen on the left and right sides at the back of the throat....
, is often incorrectly used to refer to the uvula
Uvula

The uvula is the conic projection from the posterior edge of the middle of the soft palate, composed of connective tissue containing a number of alveolar gland, and some muscular fibers ....
.

epiglottis guards the entrance of the glottis
Glottis

The glottis defined as the combination of the vocal folds and the space in between the folds ....
, the opening between the vocal folds
Vocal folds

The vocal folds, also known commonly as vocal cords, are composed of twin infoldings of mucous membrane stretched horizontally across the larynx....
.

It is normally pointed upward during breathing
Breathing

Breathing takes oxygen in and carbon dioxide out of the body. Aerobic respiration organisms require oxygen to create energy via Cellular respiration, in the form of the metabolism of energy-rich molecules such as glucose....
 with its underside functioning as part of the pharynx
Pharynx

FunctionsThe pharynx is part of the digestive system and respiratory system of many organisms.Because both food and Earth's atmosphere pass through the pharynx, a flap of connective tissue called the epiglottis closes over the trachea when food is swallowed to prevent choking or Pulmonary aspiration....
, but during swallowing
Swallowing

"Gulp" redirects here. For other uses, see Gulp .Swallowing, known scientifically as deglutition, is the process in the human or animal body that makes something pass from the mouth, to the pharynx, into the esophagus, with the shutting of the epiglottis....
, elevation of the hyoid bone
Hyoid bone

The hyoid bone is a horseshoe shaped bone situated in the anterior midline of the neck between the chin and the thyroid cartilage. At rest, it lies at the level of the base of the mandible in the front and the third cervical vertebra behind....
 draws the larynx
Larynx

The larynx , colloquially known as the voicebox, is an organ in the neck of mammals involved in protection of the vertebrate trachea and sound production....
 upward; as a result, the epiglottis folds down to a more horizontal position, with its upper side functioning as part of the pharynx.






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The epiglottis is a flap of elastic cartilage
Elastic cartilage

Elastic cartilage or yellow cartilage is a type of cartilage present in the outer ear, larynx, and epiglottis. It contains elastic fiber networks and collagen fibers....
 tissue covered with a mucous membrane
Mucous membrane

The mucous membranes are linings of mostly germ layer origin, covered in epithelium, which are involved in absorption and secretion. They line various body cavities that are exposed to the external environment and internal organ ....
, attached to the root of the tongue
Tongue

The tongue is skeletal muscle on the floor of the mouth that manipulates food for chewing . It is the primary organ of taste. Much of the upper surface of the tongue is covered in papillae and taste buds....
. It projects obliquely upwards behind the tongue and the hyoid bone. It, along with the tonsils
Tonsil

Palatine tonsils, occasionally called the faucial tonsils, are the tonsils that can be seen on the left and right sides at the back of the throat....
, is often incorrectly used to refer to the uvula
Uvula

The uvula is the conic projection from the posterior edge of the middle of the soft palate, composed of connective tissue containing a number of alveolar gland, and some muscular fibers ....
.

Anatomy and function

The epiglottis guards the entrance of the glottis
Glottis

The glottis defined as the combination of the vocal folds and the space in between the folds ....
, the opening between the vocal folds
Vocal folds

The vocal folds, also known commonly as vocal cords, are composed of twin infoldings of mucous membrane stretched horizontally across the larynx....
.

It is normally pointed upward during breathing
Breathing

Breathing takes oxygen in and carbon dioxide out of the body. Aerobic respiration organisms require oxygen to create energy via Cellular respiration, in the form of the metabolism of energy-rich molecules such as glucose....
 with its underside functioning as part of the pharynx
Pharynx

FunctionsThe pharynx is part of the digestive system and respiratory system of many organisms.Because both food and Earth's atmosphere pass through the pharynx, a flap of connective tissue called the epiglottis closes over the trachea when food is swallowed to prevent choking or Pulmonary aspiration....
, but during swallowing
Swallowing

"Gulp" redirects here. For other uses, see Gulp .Swallowing, known scientifically as deglutition, is the process in the human or animal body that makes something pass from the mouth, to the pharynx, into the esophagus, with the shutting of the epiglottis....
, elevation of the hyoid bone
Hyoid bone

The hyoid bone is a horseshoe shaped bone situated in the anterior midline of the neck between the chin and the thyroid cartilage. At rest, it lies at the level of the base of the mandible in the front and the third cervical vertebra behind....
 draws the larynx
Larynx

The larynx , colloquially known as the voicebox, is an organ in the neck of mammals involved in protection of the vertebrate trachea and sound production....
 upward; as a result, the epiglottis folds down to a more horizontal position, with its upper side functioning as part of the pharynx. In this manner it prevents food from going into the trachea
Vertebrate trachea

The traceartes, or windpipe, is a tube that has an inner diameter of about 20-25 mm and a length of about 10-16 cm in humans. It commences at the larynx and bifurcates into the primary bronchus in mammals, and from the pharynx to the syrinx in birds, allowing the passage of air to the lungs....
 and instead directs it to the esophagus
Esophagus

The esophagus or oesophagus , sometimes known as the gullet, is an Organ in vertebrates which consists of a Muscle tube through which food passes from the pharynx to the stomach....
, which is more posterior.

The epiglottis is one of nine cartilaginous structures that make up the larynx (voice box). While breathing, it lies completely within the pharynx. When swallowing it serves as part of the anterior of the larynx.

Clinical significance


Reflexes

The glossopharyngeal nerve
Glossopharyngeal nerve

The glossopharyngeal nerve is the ninth of twelve pairs of cranial nerves . It exits the brainstem out from the sides of the upper Medulla oblongata, just rostral to the vagus nerve....
 (CN IX) sends fibers to the upper epiglottis that contribute to the afferent
Afferent

Afferent is an anatomical term with the following meanings:*Conveying towards a center, for example the afferent arterioles conveying blood towards the Bowman's capsule in the Kidney....
 limb of the gag reflex
Gag reflex

The pharyngeal reflex or gag reflex is a reflex contraction of the back of the throat, evoked by touching the soft palate. It prevents something from entering the throat except as part of normal swallowing and helps prevent choking....
. The superior laryngeal branch of the vagus nerve
Vagus nerve

The vagus nerve is the tenth of twelve paired cranial nerves, and is the only nerve that starts in the brainstem and extends, through the jugular foramen, down below the head , to the neck, chest and abdomen, where it contributes to the innervation of the viscera....
 (CN X) sends fibers to the lower epiglottis that contribute to the afferent limb of the cough reflex
Cough reflex

The cough reflex has both sensory and motor pathways. The internal laryngeal nerve, a branch of the superior laryngeal nerve , carries the sensory information away from the area above the glottis in the larynx to the CNS via cranial nerve X ....
.

Infection of the epiglottis

In children, the epiglottis will occasionally become infected with Haemophilus influenzae
Haemophilus influenzae

Haemophilus influenzae, formerly called Pfeiffer's bacillus or Bacillus influenzae, is a non-motile Gram-negative coccobacillus first described in 1892 by Richard Friedrich Johannes Pfeiffer during an influenza pandemic....
 and Streptococci in the trachea, causing massive inflammation. This condition has become rare in countries where vaccination
Vaccination

Vaccination is the administration of antigenic material to produce immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by a pathogen....
 against Haemophilus influenzae (Hib) is administered.

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