Library / English Dictionary

EPIGLOTTIS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: epiglottides   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A flap of cartilage that covers the windpipe while swallowing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("epiglottis" is a kind of...):

cartilaginous structure (body structure given shape by cartilage)

Meronyms (parts of "epiglottis"):

gustatory organ; taste bud; tastebud (an oval sensory end organ on the surface of the tongue)

Holonyms ("epiglottis" is a part of...):

trachea; windpipe (membranous tube with cartilaginous rings that conveys inhaled air from the larynx to the bronchi)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Excludes anterior surface of epiglottis C10.1

(Epiglottis, NCI Thesaurus/ICD)

It is characterized by a spectrum of abnormalities which include polydactyly, cutaneous syndactyly, bifid epiglottis, hypothalamic hamartoma, and laryngotracheal cleft.

(Pallister-Hall Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)

The two small rod shaped pieces of elastic cartilage on both sides of the aryepiglottic fold which supports the epiglottis laterally and the vocal cords.

(Cuneiform Cartilage, NCI Thesaurus)

A membranous fold extending between the arytenoid cartilage and the epiglottis.

(Aryteno-Epiglottic Fold, NCI Thesaurus)

A short elastic band that unites the epiglottis to the upper border of the hyoid bone.

(Hyoepiglottic Ligament, NCI Thesaurus)

A band of muscular fibers of the oblique arytenoid muscle that extends from the summit of the arytenoid cartilage to the side of the epiglottis and whose action constricts the laryngeal aperture.

(Aryepiglottic Muscle, NCI Thesaurus)