Vocal fold

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Description:

The vocal folds are folds of the mucous membrane on the lateral walls of the larynx. They are covered with stratified squamous epithelium on the upper surface of the fold and pseudostratified columnar on the lower surface of the fold. Beneath the epithelial surface the folds consist of connective tissue and striated skeletal muscle. The connective tissue at the edge of the fold forms a stout ligament, the vocal ligament, which passes from anterior to posterior. The folds attach to the larynx anteriorly and to the arytenoid cartilages posteriorly. Movement of the cartilages and contraction of the muscle in the folds varies the degree of tension on the tissue of the folds. Varying vibrations of the folds generate the range of sounds we use in voice production.