Morphological and morphometric of the thyroid foramen of the larynx and its clinical-surgical implications

Abstract

Introduction: The thyroid foramen is a thyroidectomy and an opening in the posterior portion of the cartilage. Anatomical knowledge about the vascular and nervous structures of the neck region, as well as knowledge of the existence of anatomical variations, such as the thyroid foramen, are of paramount importance for the success of surgeries. In this perspective, the present study aimed to investigate the incidence, morphometry, and morphology of the thyroid foramen of the thyroid cartilage in cadaveric human larynges, as well as to discuss the surgical and clinical relationships resulting from this anatomical variation. Methods: 100 human larynges were selected from the collection of cadaveric parts of the Department of Anatomy at UFPE that allowed the visualization of the cartilaginous skeleton of the larynx, especially the thyroid cartilage of the larynx. Results: Of the 100 (one hundred) selected larynges, 02 (two) presented the thyroid foramen, indicating an incidence of 2%. Conclusion: An incidence of 2% of the thyroid foramen was observed, which was circular measuring 7 mm in the laryngeal cartilage with unilateral presentation and 0.45 mm and 0.5 mm on the left and right sides, respectively, in the bilateral presentation. Furthermore, the present study provided important morphological and morphometric data of this anatomical variation, which should not be neglected at the time of procedures in the neck region.