A morphological study of the vocal fold in crossbred zebu cattle

ABSTRACT

An anatomohistological study was done on 30 larynges from crossbred zebu cattle. Tissue samples were fixed in 10 porcento formaldehyde, whereas others were dissected and studied fresh with the aid of a surgical microscope. The most important morphological characteristics observed were the absence of a vestibular fold and larynx ventricle and the absence of a free margin in the vocal fold. Stained serial sections of the vocal folds showed that the connective tissue of these structures was quite thick and filled with mixed glands, there was a clear continuity between the submucosal connective tissue and vocal ligament and the connective tissue surrounding the muscle bundles of the vocal muscle. The vocal and thyroarytenoid muscles belonged to the same muscle mass and were separated by a sulcus occupied by the vocal ligament. The epithelium of the vocal folds was of the stratified, non-keratinized, squamous type throughout its extensions.