The cricoid cartilage, or simply cricoid, is the only complete ring of cartilage around the trachea. It sits just inferior to the thyroid cartilage in the neck, and is joined to it medially by the cricothyroid ligament and postero-laterally by the cricothyroid joints. Inferior to it are the rings of cartilage around the trachea (which are not continuous - rather they are C-shaped with a gap posteriorly). The cricoid is joined to the first tracheal ring by the cricotracheal ligament, and this can be felt as a more yielding area between the firm thyroid cartilage and firmer cricoid. Cartilage is a type of dense connective tissue. ... The trachea (IPA /treikiə/), or windpipe, is a tube extending from the larynx to the bronchi in mammals, and from the pharynx to the syrinx in birds, carrying air to the lungs. ... The cartilages of the larynx. ... The neck is the part of the body on many limbed vertebrates that distinguishes the head from the torso or trunk. ... The cricothyroid ligament is the larger part of the laryngeal membrane, continuing inferiorly as a median or anterior part and twin lateral ligaments. ...

It is also anatomically related to the thyroid gland; although the thyroid isthmus is inferior to it, the two lobes of the thyroid extend superiorly on each side of the cricoid as far as the throid cartilage above it. Simplified diagram An isthmus is a narrow strip of land, bordered on two sides by water, and connects two larger land masses. ...

The posterior part of the cricoid is slightly broader than the anterior and lateral parts, and is called the lamina, while the anterior part is the band; this may be the reason for the common comparison made between the cricoid and a signet ring. The English word POSTERIOR is identical to the original Latin adjective, and has two different uses : as an ADJECTIVE, it indicates that someone or something is behind another, either spatially or chronologically it also became a SUBSTANTIVE, indicating the rear-end, especially of a person, i. ... In zootomy, several terms are used to describe the location of organs and other structures in the body of bilateral animals. ...

The function of the cricoid is to provide attachments for the various muscles, cartilages, and ligaments involved in opening and closing the airway and in speech production. A top-down view of skeletal muscle Muscle is a contractile form of tissue. ... A ligament is a short band of tough fibrous connective tissue composed mainly of long, stringy collagen fibres. ... The trachea (IPA /treikiə/), or windpipe, is a tube extending from the larynx to the bronchi in mammals, and from the pharynx to the syrinx in birds, carrying air to the lungs. ... One might be looking for the academic discipline of communications. ...

It is made of hyaline cartilage, and so can become calcified or even ossified, particularly in old age. Categories: Stub ... Ossification is the process of bone formation, in which connective tissues, such as cartilage are turned to bone or bone-like tissue. ...