Superior Perspective of the Transverse Arytenoid Muscle

Description

Spanning the posterior aspect of the glottic inlet, the transverse arytenoid muscle runs horizontally from the posterior surface of one arytenoid cartilage to the other, forming a muscular bridge across the interarytenoid region. From a superior perspective, the paired arytenoid cartilages sit posterolateral to the laryngeal lumen, while the transverse fibers lie deep to the crossing oblique arytenoid bundles and adjacent to the posterior cricoarytenoid muscles on the dorsal cricoid lamina. Laterally, the thyroarytenoid muscle courses anteromedially from the thyroid cartilage toward the arytenoid vocal process, framing the posterior limits of the rima glottidis. Orientation matters. Interarytenoid function is the main teaching point in this view: transverse arytenoid adducts the arytenoid cartilages toward the midline and closes the posterior (intercartilaginous) glottis, a distinct mechanical action from the thyroarytenoid’s effect on vocal fold tension and bulk. This distinction becomes clinically concrete in unilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy, where incomplete posterior glottic closure can contribute to a breathy voice and aspiration risk, and surgical strategies such as medialization thyroplasty or arytenoid adduction are planned around the geometry of the arytenoid complex. The superior vantage also clarifies how edema, scarring, or intubation-related injury at the posterior glottis can disrupt interarytenoid approximation. Use this artwork in otolaryngology and speech-language pathology teaching modules on intrinsic laryngeal muscles, in surgical atlases addressing the posterior glottis and arytenoid adduction, or in publisher figures comparing adductor groups during phonation and airway protection. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.