Adam's apple

Introduction Most men have a larynx after puberty. The prominent laryngeal node is one of the male sexual characteristics. After men's puberty, due to the action of androgen, the laryngeal knot will protrude forward to different degrees. The human throat consists of 11 cartilage as the scaffold, the most important of which is the thyroid cartilage. At 2 months, the laryngeal cartilage begins to develop until 5 to 6 years after birth, and is still growing every year, but the growth of laryngeal cartilage is basically stopped during the period from 5 to 6 years old to adolescence. Therefore, the thyroid cartilage of the boy and the girl is the same. After entering the puberty period, due to the increased secretion of androgen, this causes men to have a larynx. Both men and women have a knot.

Cause

The male's throat is rapidly enlarged by the action of androgens, and the thyroid cartilage in the neck protrudes forward, which nearly doubles the anteroposterior diameter of the larynx, and the vocalization becomes a low male tone.

an examination

We know that the development of the larynx is related to age and gender. Before puberty, the development of male and female throats is not much different, but by the time of puberty, the throat of women still does not increase significantly, while the throat of males increases rapidly under the action of androgens, and the thyroid cartilage in the neck Prominence in the front makes the anteroposterior diameter of the larynx nearly double, and the vocalization becomes a low male tone. This is the physiological process of the development of the larynx. Understand this process, we can understand why there is no obvious difference between male and female voices before puberty, that is, the boy's voice is very similar to the girl's voice, and after puberty, the male's throat anteroposterior diameter becomes a large male voice, female The reason why the anteroposterior diameter of the throat is small and the female voice is sharp. Just like some instruments, the sound of a small diameter is sharper, and the sound of a thicker diameter is thicker. The reason is the same.

Then why do some men have male sounds but the throat is not obvious? Some scholars have done clinical research and found that some adult males with inconspicuous larynx, some of them are very strong athletics, gymnasts, etc. They are muscular. Male sexuality is also normal. Most of these men with unclear larynx were married, had normal fertility, and had no other abnormalities, and no abnormalities were seen in endocrine examination.

Experts have found out through the investigation of the personal life history of these people: some of these men have been engaged in large-volume sports training since puberty, and some have had a history of excessive masturbation at the beginning of development. A large proportion of the respondents, some scholars believe that this may lead to a large consumption of androgen during puberty, so that the thyroid cartilage failed to fully protrude forward, so that the larynx is not so obvious from the outside. Although the protrusion is not sufficient, the anteroposterior diameter of the larynx is larger than that before puberty, so the sound is also male. However, there are still some people who are thicker than the neck, obese or thyroid cartilage is not a typical forward protrusion but is equally expanding around, so it seems that the larynx is not so obvious.

Fortunately, after investigation and research, it was confirmed that the obviousness of the larynx was not necessarily related to the development of the testis and penis. Although some males had no obvious larynx, their testes and penis developed quite well. Therefore, some medical books now no longer use the prominentness of the larynx as a criterion for judging whether male secondary sexual development is normal. Some anatomical books no longer mention the anatomical terminology of the larynx. Of course, only those patients whose larynx is not obvious or undeveloped, accompanied by internal and external genital dysplasia and a sharp squeaky voice are necessary for treatment.

Differential diagnosis

The girl's larynx is highlighted as follows:

1. Endocrine function is insufficient

Everyone knows that the sex hormone that dominates the woman's body is estrogen, and the content of male stimuli is extremely small. If the ovarian function is insufficient, or if the endocrine glands such as the pituitary gland and the adrenal gland have problems, the content of androgen in the body will increase. Therefore, the phenomenon of "successfulness" will occur, and masculinization such as prominent laryngeal nodes, hairy hair and thick voice will appear. Performance, at the same time, some of the characteristics that women should have are not obvious.

2. Genetic factors

The characteristics of the growth and development of the previous generation will be passed on to the next generation. Not only the height and shape, but also the shape of the eye, the length of the nose, the height of the cheekbones, the size of the ears, and the shape of the breast will be inherited. Of course, it also includes the size of the larynx. The father's throat is particularly large and conspicuous. The daughter who is raised sometimes has a prominent throat.

3. Weight loss

Although the woman's throat is not as big and prominent as a male, the woman who is too thin, because the fat and muscle tissue in the front of the neck is not developed, the throat will also appear to protrude forward.

However, some adolescent girls have a physiological increase in the thyroid gland. This is because the metabolism is relatively strong, the iodine supply is insufficient, resulting in physiological relative iodine deficiency, which will disappear in the future. Because the enlarged thyroid is just below the larynx, it is often mistaken for the prominent laryngeal node.

The material in this site is intended to be of general informational use and is not intended to constitute medical advice, probable diagnosis, or recommended treatments.