During the fourth week of embryonic development, the rudiment of the respiratory tree appears as a median laryngotracheal groove in the ventral wall of the pharynx. The groove subsequently deepens and its edges fuse to form a septum, thus converting the groove into a splanchnopleuric laryngotracheal tube. This process of fusion commences caudally and extends cranially but does not involve the c...

BACKGROUND When conventional high-volume, low-pressure cuffs of endotracheal tubes (ETTs) are inflated, channel formation due to folds in the cuff wall can occur. These channels facilitate microaspiration of subglottic secretions, which is the main pathogenic mechanism leading to intubation-related pneumonia. Ultrathin polyurethane (PU)-cuffed ETTs are developed to minimize channel formation in...

Using fibreoptic laryngoscopy to observe pharyngeal articulations, the aryepiglottic sphincter mechanism i s shown to be responsible for the production of speech sounds in the phonetic category "pharyngeal." Major differences in auditory/acoustic quality are also produced when the larynx as a whole is raised or lowered during the production of pharyngeals. The voiceless pharyngeal fricative and...

In this issue of Developmental Cell, Rasmussen et al. (2008) investigate the morphogenesis of the Caenorhabditis elegans pharynx. Their results highlight the usefulness of this system for investigating the molecular mechanisms behind the unusual cell behaviors that underlie the formation of single-celled tubes during animal development.

INTRODUCTION After total laryngectomy, voice rehabilitation can be achieved by use of voice prosthesis insertion (e.g., BlomSinger, InHealth Technologies, Carpinteria, CA; Provox, Atos Medical, H€orby, Sweden; Tracoe, Tracoe Medical, Frankfurt, Germany) or an esophageal voice or assistive digital speech device (e.g., Servox, Servox AG, Troisdorf, Germany). Various studies have shown that insert...

INTRODUCTION Lung isolation is a common technique used in thoracic surgery to prevent spillage to unaffected lung and to provide a better view for the surgeon. CASE PRESENTATION A 41-year-old woman with a history of pharyngo-laryngo-oesophagectomy (PLO) and tracheostomy was a candidate for thoracic duct ligation because of chylothorax. Since the patient had tracheostmy stomal stenosis, two cu...