pyriform sinus
{{Short description|Fossa involved in speech}}
{{Infobox anatomy
| Name = Pyriform sinus
| Latin = recessus piriformis, sinus piriformis
| Image = illu07_larynx01.jpg
| Caption = Pyriform sinus, a part of hypopharynx
| Image2 = Gray955.png
| Caption2 = The entrance to the larynx, viewed from behind, with Pyriform sinus labeled at bottom left.
| Precursor =
| System =
| Artery =
| Vein =
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| Lymph =
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The pyriform sinus (also piriform recess, piriform sinus, piriform fossa, or smuggler's fossa) is a small recess on either side of the laryngeal inlet. It is bounded medially by the aryepiglottic fold, and laterally by the thyroid cartilage and thyrohyoid membrane.{{Cite book |last=Standring |first=Susan |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1201341621 |title=Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice |date= |others= |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-7020-7707-4 |edition=42nd |location=New York |pages=709 |oclc=1201341621}} The fossae are involved in speech.
Etymology
The term "pyriform," which means "pear-shaped," is also sometimes spelled "piriform".{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}
The term smuggler's fossa comes from its use for smuggling of small items.{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Vishram |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bNTgAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA203 |title=Textbook of Anatomy Head, Neck, and Brain; |date=4 March 2014 |publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences |isbn=978-81-312-3627-7 |page=203}}
Structure
= Relations =
Deep to the mucous membrane of the pyriform fossa lie the recurrent laryngeal nerve as well as the internal laryngeal nerve, a branch of the superior laryngeal nerve.Moore, K.L., & Agur, A.M.R (2007). Essential Clinical Anatomy: Third Edition. Baltimore: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. {{ISBN|978-0-7817-6274-8}} The internal laryngeal nerve supplies sensation to the area, and it may become damaged if the mucous membrane is inadvertently punctured. The pyriform sinus is a subsite of the hypopharynx. This distinction is important for head and neck cancer staging and treatment.AJCC Cancer Staging Handbook: From the AJCC Cancer Staging Manual, Sixth Edition. Ed. Frederick L. Greene, M.D. page 48.
Clinical significance
This sinus is a common place for food particles 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 (e.g., by a fish bone), it can give the sensation of food stuck in the subject's throat.
Remnants of the pharyngeal pouches III and IV may extent to the piriform sinus as sinus tracts which are sometimes imprecisely called "fistulas".{{cite book|last1=Koch|first1=Bernadette L. |last2=Hamilton|first2=Bronwyn E. |last3=Hudgins|first3=Patricia A. |last4=Harnsberger |first4=H. Ric |title=Diagnostic Imaging: Head and Neck E-Book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wgCRDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA611|date=22 November 2016|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|isbn=978-0-323-44314-2|page=611}}{{cite book|last1=Lucente|first1=Frank E. |last2=Har-El|first2=Gady |title=Essentials of Otolaryngology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m1uW6zW6BvgC&pg=PA281|year=2004|publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins|isbn=978-0-7817-4707-3|pages=281–2}} This can result in acute infectious thyroiditis which is more common on the left side of the neck.{{cite book|last1=Gorbach|first1=Sherwood L. |last2=Bartlett|first2=John G. |last3=Blacklow|first3=Neil R. |title=Infectious Diseases|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=91altE1evAsC&pg=PA462|year=2004|publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins|isbn=978-0-7817-3371-7|page=462}}
References
{{Gray's}}
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{SUNYAnatomyLabs|31|17|01|05}} - "Pharynx: The Laryngopharynx"
{{Digestive tract}}
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