Aryepiglottic Muscle

Origin, Insertion, Action & Nerve

Attachments explained

The Aryepiglottic Muscle is defined first by where it attaches. Its origin is the more fixed anchor, usually the proximal or more stable end that stays put during contraction, while its insertion is the more mobile point that is pulled toward the origin when the muscle shortens.

Action & function

When the Aryepiglottic Muscle contracts, it produces the following movement: Narrows and closes the laryngeal inlet (aditus).

As part of the Larynx group of the Head & Neck, it works alongside neighbouring muscles to generate smooth, coordinated movement and to stabilise the structures it acts on.

Nerve supply & clinical relevance

The Aryepiglottic Muscle receives its nerve supply from the Recurrent laryngeal nerve (vagus, CN X).

Because a muscle can only contract when its nerve is intact, injury to the Recurrent laryngeal nerve can weaken or paralyse the Aryepiglottic Muscle, impairing the movements it normally produces (narrows and closes the laryngeal inlet (aditus)). This is why knowing the innervation is central to localising nerve lesions in clinical practice.

How to study the Aryepiglottic Muscle (the OIANS method)

Treat the aryepiglottic muscle as the forward extension of the oblique arytenoid, carrying that muscle's line of pull from the arytenoid apex into the aryepiglottic fold and onto the epiglottis. Seeing it as one continuous strap makes its role clear: it draws the epiglottis and arytenoids together to shut the inlet.

Link it to airway protection during a swallow, since with the oblique arytenoids it is the true sphincter of the laryngeal aditus, tightening the fold that guards the entrance. Remember it rides the same recurrent laryngeal nerve as the other closers, and use the aryepiglottic fold as the landmark that houses its fibres.

Frequently asked questions

Related muscles