Sex Differences
The laryngeal prominence is usually more prominent in adult men than in women or prepubescent children. The growth of the larynx itself, and dropping of the vocal box during puberty is responsible for the vocal instability in teenage boys. The laryngeal prominence is merely the protrusion one sees of the thyroid cartilage making up the body of the larynx. The laryngeal prominence is usually more prominent in adult males because the thyroid cartilage elongates during puberty as the voice box becomes lodged in the throat, protruding out of the front of the neck more noticeably. The result is that the two laminae (thin cartilage) of the thyroid cartilage that form the protrusion meet at an average angle of 90° in males, and 120° in females, so there is less cartilage protruding out in females.
Read more about this topic: Adam's Apple
Famous quotes containing the word differences:
“Traveling, you realize that differences are lost: each city takes to resembling all cities, places exchange their form, order, distances, a shapeless dust cloud invades the continents.”
—Italo Calvino (19231985)