science

Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle

Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle rather than just read about it. In short: The lateral cricoarytenoid (also anterior cricoarytenoid) is an intrinsic muscle of the larynx. It attaches at the cricoid cartilage anteriorly, and at the arytenoid cartilage of the same side posteriorly.

Key takeaways

Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The lateral cricoarytenoid (also anterior cricoarytenoid) is an intrinsic muscle of the larynx. It attaches at the cricoid cartilage anteriorly, and at the arytenoid cartilage of the same side posteriorly. It is innervated by the recurrent laryngeal nerve. It acts to close the rima glottidis, thus closing the airway.

Anatomy The muscle is directed obliquely superoposteriorly from its anterior attachment to its posterior attachment.

Attachments The muscle's anterior attachment is onto the superior border of the arch of the cricoid cartilage. Its posterior attachment is onto the anterior aspect of the muscular process of the ipsilateral arytenoid cartilage.

Innervation The muscle receives motor innervation from (branches of the anterior terminal division of) the recurrent laryngeal nerve (which is in turn a branch of a vagus nerve (CN X)).

Actions/movements The muscle rotates the arytenoid cartilage medially (it thus acts as antagonist to the posterior cricoarytenoid muscle which rotates the cartilage laterally).

Function The muscle closes the rima glottidis, adducting (approximating) the apices of the vocal process to close the ligamentous part of rima glottidis (in which it is synergystic with the oblique arytenoid muscles and transverse arytenoid muscle). It thus functions to close the airway. It also shortens and slackens the vocal cords.

Additional images

See also Cricoid cartilage Arytenoid cartilage

References

External links Atlas image: rsa4p3 at the University of Michigan Health System lesson11 at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University) (larynxlatcricoary)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle

In research: Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Muscle stubs, Muscles of the head and neck, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle in simple terms?

Why does Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle.