ENT specialist and phoniatricians are not the only professionals for whom diseases of the larynx occupy centre stage; this applies to those in all fields involving conservative or surgical treatment of the larynx, such as speech therapists, paediatricians, anaesthetists, oncologists, pulmonologists, radiologists and general practitioners. On the basis of current knowledge and taking account of results yielded by their own research in recent years and of clinical aspects, in this paper the authors give a short overview of basic knowledge on the anatomy and physiology of the larynx. Part 1 deals with its development and division, the laryngeal skeleton and joints, the insertion structures of the vocal folds and the laryngeal musculature and describes new insights into the mineralization and ossification of the laryngeal skeleton and their implications for phonation, arytenoid subluxation, degenerative joint changes and the biomechanics of vocal cord insertion.
