Piriform sinus

Piriform sinus
Larynx
Latin	recessus piriformis, sinus piriformis
Gray's	subject #244 1142

On either side of the laryngeal orifice is a recess, termed the piriform sinus (also piriform recess, pyriform sinus, or piriform fossa), which is bounded medially by the aryepiglottic fold, laterally by the thyroid cartilage and hyothyroid membrane. The fossae are involved in speech.

The term "piriform," which means "pear-shaped," is also sometimes spelled "pyriform" (as in the diagram on this page.)

Deep to the mucous membrane of the piriform fossa lie the recurrent laryngeal nerve as well as the internal laryngeal nerve, a branch of the superior laryngeal nerve.^[1] The internal laryngeal nerve supplies sensation to the area, and it may become damaged if the mucous membrane is inadvertently punctured.

While accurate, the diagram is misleading in that the piriform sinus is not a subsite of the larynx. Rather, it is a subsite of the hypopharynx. This distinction is important for head and neck cancer staging and treatment. ^[2]

Clinical significance

It is a common place for food to become trapped; if foreign material becomes lodged in the piriform fossa of an infant, it may be retrieved nonsurgically. If the area is injured (eg., by a fish bone), it can give the sensation of food stuck in the throat. Moreover, it is a place for concealment of drugs during smuggling. 

References

External links

• SUNY Labs 31:17-0105 - "Pharynx: The Laryngopharynx"

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated.

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