Chapter 52 The Pharynx, Larynx and Neck

The pharynx is a fibromuscular tube forming the upper part of the respiratory and digestive passages. It extends from the base of the skull to the level of the sixth cervical vertebra at the lower border of the cricoid cartilage, where it becomes continuous with the oesophagus. The nasopharynx lies anterior to the first cervical vertebra. The adenoids, which constitute the superior component of Waldeyer’s ring, are situated at the junction of the roof and posterior wall of the nasopharynx. The superior border of the hypopharynx is at the level of the laryngeal inlet. Its inferior border is the lower border of the cricoid cartilage where it continues into the oesophagus. The hypopharynx is commonly divided into three areas: the right and left piriform fossae, the posterior pharyngeal wall and the postcricoid region. It is important to appreciate that the main function of the larynx is not the production of voice but the protection of the tracheobronchial airway and lungs.

Multiple Choice Questions
Weblinks

Journal article

https://www.bjanaesthesia.org.uk/article/S0007-0912(18)30630-5/fulltext/

Laryngeal handshake technique in locating the cricothyroid membrane: a non-randomised comparative study.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0716864018300919/

New American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC)/Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) staging system for head and neck and thyroid cancer.

Guidelines

https://static.cambridge.org/content/id/urn:cambridge.org:id:article:S0022215116000359/resource/name/JLO130_S2.pdf/

UK National Multidisciplinary Guidelines on head and neck cancer.

https://publishing.rcseng.ac.uk/doi/pdf/10.1308/rcsann.2017.0191/

Penetrating neck injuries: a guide to evaluation and management.

https://das.uk.com/guidelines/

Difficult Airway Society guidelines.

https://www.nccn.org/guidelines/category_1/

National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines.

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