Question

A singer is finding difficulty raising the pitch of her voice. On examination, her vocal cords were depressed and bowing. Which of the following muscles is involved?

• A. Cricothyroid
• B. Interarytenoid
• C. Posterior cricoarytenoid
• D. Lateral arytenoid

Hint:

When a patient has difficulty raising the pitch of their voice with vocal cord bowing, think of the cricothyroid muscle involvement.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

In this scenario, the singer is having difficulty raising the pitch of her voice due to depressed and bowed vocal cords. The problem appears to be associated with the muscles controlling the tension and length of the vocal cords.

The muscle primarily responsible for increasing the tension of the vocal cords, thus raising the pitch, is the cricothyroid muscle. This muscle functions by tilting the thyroid cartilage forward, which stretches and tenses the vocal cords, enabling higher pitch production.

Let's consider the roles of the muscles provided in the options:

• Cricothyroid: Increases tension in the vocal cords to raise pitch. This is the correct answer.
• Interarytenoid: Closes the posterior glottis; involved in adduction of vocal cords but not in raising pitch.
• Posterior cricoarytenoid: Abducts the vocal cords; primarily involved in opening the glottis for breathing, not in pitch alteration.
• Lateral arytenoid: Adducts the vocal cords; it closes the glottis, also not involved in altering pitch.

Thus, the muscle involved in raising the pitch of the voice, given the symptoms, is indeed the cricothyroid muscle.