Adams Apple: Structure, Function & Diseases

The Adam’s apple is a thickening of a cartilage. Externally, it is easily visible, especially in men, and moves during speech or swallowing. In women, the enlargement can be palpated.

What is the Adam’s apple?

The Adam’s apple is part of the thyroid cartilage. This is the largest cartilage in the neck. It is prominent, especially in men, and can be located in the middle of the neck. The differentiation between the sexes is due to puberty and the hormones involved. Male sex hormones are mainly responsible for the formation of the Adam’s apple. Women also have a certain level of the specific hormones. However, the level is lower than in a man. As soon as the Adam’s apple becomes more prominent in male development, the voice changes at the same time. The basis for the change in voice is the position of the vocal cords. These are lengthened as soon as the Adam’s apple changes its size.

Anatomy and structure

The Adam’s apple ultimately represents a part of the larynx. In this, it consists of cartilaginous tissue. The larynx itself separates the airway and trachea from each other. In this way, food debris does not enter the lungs during eating, which would lead to serious consequences. The epiglottis is responsible for closing the esophagus during swallowing. The front part of the larynx consists of the thyroid cartilage. This is also the point of attachment of the vocal cords. With the help of vibrations caused by air currents, it is possible for humans to produce various sounds. In the course of puberty, the larynx as a whole grows. This protrudes forward and thus forms the Adam’s apple in males. The Adam’s apple thus belongs to the secondary sexual characteristics in male adolescents. These signal sexual maturity through their formation and also allow differentiation between male and female.

Function and tasks

The Adam’s apple is responsible for changing the voice in males. Due to the attachment of the vocal cords to the cartilage, an enlargement of the larynx also affects the voice. Before the onset of puberty, the vocal cords have a length of about 12 millimeters. If the cartilaginous part of the larynx grows, the vocal cords grow at the same time. At the completed stage, a length of about 2.2 centimeters can be measured. This doubles the range of the vocal cords. Based on this change, differences in the tone of the voice between children and adults can be detected: the sounds sound deeper with advancing age. At the same time, the growth of the vocal cords is not a uniform process. Instead, some vocal cords may take a little more time to grow than others and are thus initially shorter. Based on these differences in length, a beep can usually be heard in boys during puberty in some situations. The voice fluctuates between that of a child and that of a man. It is precisely this process that has given the voice change its name, because the voice literarily “breaks”. The Adam’s apple is thus responsible for the change in voice in men. Because there is no strong growth of the cartilage in women, the spoken sounds are usually much higher. Nevertheless, sometimes an Adam’s apple is also formed in female adolescents. However, this has no function and is increasingly regarded as a blemish. It can develop, for example, in the case of a hormonal disorder in the context of which more male hormones are produced, as is the case with PCO syndrome.

Diseases

Diseases of the Adam’s apple are diseases that affect the larynx as a whole. These include, for example, malformations as well as tumors. A tumor can manifest itself as laryngeal cancer, which is more common in people who use tobacco regularly. Laryngeal cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in the throat. It can appear in a variety of locations. The majority of patients are over 50 years old and male. A tumor draws attention to itself, for example, by a change in the voice. Affected persons often clear their throats, have a chronic cough or produce harsh sounds.Furthermore, patients report difficulty swallowing and a foreign body sensation. In addition, inflammation may spread to the larynx. Such a phenomenon develops primarily when a respiratory tract infection is present. In most cases, the pathogen is a virus. The inflammation can be acute or chronic and should always be treated to avoid further consequences. Acute inflammation usually heals without leaving any consequential damage. However, resting the voice is considered elementary for a successful therapy. In addition to bacteria and viruses, the inflammation can be triggered by a mechanical stimulus. This occurs, for example, when the voice is used very intensively over a certain period of time. In particular, shouting and loud talking cause irritation of the larynx and thus also of the Adam’s apple. If a severe swelling is observed underneath the Adam’s apple, which has developed for seemingly no reason and does not disappear, there may be a disease of the thyroid gland, such as a goiter. This increases in size only slowly and is thus often diagnosed relatively late.

Typical and common laryngeal diseases

  • Laryngitis
  • Laryngeal cancer
  • Laryngeal paralysis
  • Epiglottitis (inflammation of the epiglottis)