The larynx or voice box has two vocal cords, which are bands of muscle tissue that vibrate and produce sound. Any injury or damage to the vocal cords will affect your voice. According to the National Institutes of Health, disorders that can affect...
Laryngectomy is the surgical removal of all or part of the larynx, or voice box, usually as a treatment for laryngeal cancer. It is normally performed when other treatment options, such as radiation or chemotherapy, fail. Laryngectomies can be...
Hoarseness signifies an abnormality in the voice box, or larynx. The voice often sounds gravelly or weak and may crack or have an unusually high or low pitch. Hoarseness may occur acutely, lasting a brief period, or chronically. Causes of...
If you have been diagnosed with cancer of the larynx, you have several different treatment options. Your doctors will first analyze the type and location of your cancer and determine its size and stage of growth before deciding on your treatment...
Pharyngeal cancer is cancer developing in the pharynx or throat. The pharynx runs from the back of the nose and mouth to the voice box or larynx. According to the American Cancer Society, tobacco use is the single most important risk factor in the...
The symptoms of sore throat and swallowing difficulty frequently overlap because of the proximity of the neck structures. The mouth opens into the throat, which leads to the voice box for air and the esophagus for food. The throat, voice box and...
The abnormal, unregulated growth of cells within the throat (pharynx) or voice box (larynx) is a medical condition known as throat cancer. Health officials at the National Cancer Institute report that nearly 25,000 people in the United States were...
According to the National Cancer Institute, in 2009 in the United States, approximately 12,290 new diagnoses of laryngeal cancer were made, and 3,660 individuals died from the disease. Cancer of the larynx, also known as the voice box, is often...
Cancer of the head and neck account for around four percent of all cancers in the United States, according to the College of American Pathologists. Several different forms of cancer may affect the neck, but the most common cancer involving the...
Pain in the neck near the throat is a frequent complaint encountered in physicians' offices. Those symptoms are especially common in children. Conditions that cause pain in the throat often cause pain in the neck near the throat. For that reason,...
A sore throat can be a painful experience, sometimes keeping people sidelined for days as the body attempts to recover. Sore throats are usually caused by a contagious viral infection (flu, cold or mononucleosis). Redness, scratchiness,...
A laryngectomy is a complex surgical procedure performed to remove the larynx. Often referred to as the "voice box," the larynx is important for many other functions, such as vomiting, coughing, swallowing and prevention of choking. It is located...
Throat cancer is a rare condition caused by abnormal cancerous cell growth within any region of the throat (pharynx), including the vocal cords or voice box (larynx). Though the cause of throat cancer is unknown, regular tobacco or alcohol use may...
Acid from the stomach can regurgitate into the throat. This backflow of stomach acid, which irritates the voice box, is called reflux laryngitis. The valve between the esophagus, which is the food pipe, and the stomach protects reflux of acid....
Thyroid surgery, called thyroidectomy, is a partial or complete removal of the thyroid gland. Thyroidectomy is performed due to an overactive thyroid, thyroid cancer, nodules or an enlarged thyroid. Thyroid surgery is generally considered safe,...
Losing your voice results from a condition known as laryngitis. This occurs when your larynx---or voice box---becomes swollen or irritated, according to MedlinePlus. This can be caused by a number of factors, including allergies, a cold, flu,...
A goiter is simply an enlarged thyroid gland. Symptoms can occur when the thyroid increases in size and compresses other structures in the neck like the esophagus and windpipe. According to the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists,...
Endoscopes are small, flexible cameras used for a variety of procedures in medical settings. Endoscopes allow doctors to see parts of the body that they can't see with their eyes. They're particularly effective when placed in naturally occurring...
The term "throat cancer" describes cancers that arise from any of the structures in the throat, mainly the pharynx, the larynx or voice box and the epiglottis. The American Cancer Society lists radiotherapy or radiation therapy as one of...
A sore throat is discomfort, pain or swelling in the throat, according to MedlinePlus. A pollen allergy causes the hormone, histamine, to be released in the body, causing inflammation and irritation in the throat. Once the throat swells, it...
As defined by MayoClinic.com, a laryngectomy is the surgical removal of either a part or the entire larynx, or voice box. A laryngectomy is usually done to treat cancer of the larynx, or rarely done to treat damage of the larynx due to trauma....
Testosterone is a steroid hormone with a chemical structure based off that of cholesterol. Upon secretion into the bloodstream, testosterone circulates throughout the body and signals to cells within a number of tissues. Under normal conditions,...
The American Cancer Society explains that tobacco smoke significantly contributes to the deaths of over 440,000 Americans every year. This accounts for about 20 percent of all deaths in the United States and outnumbers the deaths from alcohol, car...
The larynx (sometimes called the voice box) is a tube-shaped organ in the neck region between the pharynx (throat) and the trachea (breathing tube). The larynx houses the vocal cords and has a cartilaginous skeleton and intrinsic and extrinsic...
Spasmodic dysphonia -- also known as SD -- is a condition that causes your vocal cords to open and close involuntarily. This affects your speech and tone of voice because air cannot flow properly through the vocal folds. Although different types...
Croup is a condition that usually starts as a virus then leads to inflammation of your child's upper airways. This swelling of the voice box and windpipe causes a barking cough and hoarseness that may alarm you. Knowing the common symptoms of...
While only a few ear, nose and throat diseases are fatal, they can cause considerable cosmetic, communication and pain problems for the afflicted person. Ear infections are the most common ailments, especially in children. Throat infections are...
Laryngitis is the loss of your voice or hoarseness that occurs when you have swelling or irritation of your larynx, or voice box. Your voice box contains your vocal cords and is located at the top of your trachea, which is the airway to your...
The thyroid, located in the front portion of the neck just below the voice box, regulates metabolism and calcium levels. Hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism are two health complications resulting from an underactive thyroid and an overactive...
A tracheotomy is a procedure that opens the airways directly through the neck. Learn about the dealing with and performing a tracheotomy in this video.
Laryngeal cancer is found in the larynx of the body which is the organ that has the voice box and vocal chords. In this video learn more about this form of cancer and how it can be prevented and treated.
While we may wish some people wouldn't talk, we probably don't wish they had laryngitis. Laryngitis is an inflammation of your voice box (larynx) due to overuse, irritation or infection. Learn about the different causes, symptoms, and treatments...
