A

David

Darling

thyroid cartilage

skeleton of the larynx, showing thyroid cartilage

The thyroid cartilage is the largest cartilage of the larynx. It is mainly comprised of two plates, or laminae, which are fused down their midline anteriorly (at the front). The part of the cartilage that juts out at the front is known commonly as the "Adam's apple" and scientifically as the laryngeal prominence. The angle that the plates of the cartilage make is usually more acute in males, which results in a more prominent Adam's apple. The inferior horns of the thyroid cartilage articulate with the sides of the cricoid cartilage and form the cricothyroid joint, about which the thyroid cartilage can rock back and forth.