Histochemistry of human laryngeal muscles
Sadeh, M.; Kronenberg, J.; Gaton, E.
Cellular and Molecular Biology Including Cyto-Enzymology 27(6): 643-648
1981
ISSN/ISBN: 0145-5680 PMID: 6211237 Document Number: 178726
A histochemical study was carried out of the cricothyroid, posterior cricoarythenoid, lateral cricoarythenoid and vocalis muscles from 2 laryngectomized patients. Fiber types were identified according to the criteria used for routine limb muscle histochemistry. Muscle fibers size was considerably smaller than that of skeletal muscles and the variability in the size of fibers, as reflected in the histograms, was increased. In contrast to the well-known equal distribution of the 3 fiber types in limb muscles, the laryngeal muscles showed type 1 and type 2A equally represented in 90% of all fibers, with type 2B making up < 10% of the total. Although in animals studies individual muscles differed in their fiber type composition, the above distribution was constant in the human specimens in all muscles.