LARYNGOSCOPY. 



515 



arytenoid, cartilages consist of yellow ^ fibro- cartilage, and so do all the other cartilages of the 

 larynx. 



The larynx grows until about the sixth year, when it rests for a time, but it becomes again 

 much larger at puberty ( 434). 



314. LARYNGOSCOPY. Historical. After Bozzini (1807) gave the first impulse towards 

 the investigation of the internal cavities of the body, by illuminating them with the aid of 

 mirrors, Babington (1829) actually observed the glottis in this way. The famous singer, 

 Manuel Garcia (1854), made investigations both on himself and other singers, regarding the 

 movements of the vocal cords, during respiration and phonation. The examination of the 

 larynx by means of the laryngoscope was rendered practicable chiefly by Tiirck (1857) and 



Fig. 359. 

 Vertical section through the head and neck, to the 1st dorsal vertebra, a, position of the 

 laryngoscope on observing the posterior part of the glottis, arytenoid cartilages, and upper 

 surface of the posterior wall of the larynx ; b, its position on observing the anterior angle 

 of the glottis. Large, a, and b, small laryngoscopic mirrors. 



Czermak, the latter observer being the first to use the light of a lamp for the illumination of 

 the larynx. Rhinoscopy was actually first practised by Baumes (1838), but Czermak was the 

 first person who investigated this subject systematically. 



The Laryngoscope consists of a small mirror fixed to a long handle, at an angle of 125 to 

 130 (fig. 359, a, b). When the mouth is opened, and the tongue drawn forward, the mirror is 

 introduced, as is shown in fig. 360. The position of the mirror must be varied, according to 

 the position of the larynx we wish to examine ; in some cases, the soft palate has to be raised 

 by the back of the mirror, as in the position b. A picture of the part of the larynx examined is 

 formed in the small mirror, the rays of light passing in the direction indicated by the dotted 



