Hypopharynx anatomy
HIDEInteractive Transcript
0:01
Hello, everyone.
0:02
It's Dr. Sidney Levy here.
0:02
4 00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:07,840 I'm here to discuss, uh, the hypopharynx today
0:08
as part of our lecture series on diagnosis and
0:11
staging of head and neck squamous cell malignancy.
0:15
I'd like to begin by going through
0:17
the anatomy of this region.
0:21
So the hypopharynx may be considered the hypopharyngeal
0:24
component of the pharyngeal mucosal space.
0:28
And first, I'd like to go through
0:30
some of the boundaries of this space.
0:34
I will draw these boundaries as I go.
0:38
So, superiorly, we have the oropharynx.
0:41
The larynx begins at the junction of the laryngeal
0:46
surface of the epiglottis, which is considered
0:49
part of the larynx, and the aryepiglottic
0:53
folds to which the epiglottis attaches.
0:56
But we use it as a landmark to help identify the posterior
1:01
hypopharyngeal wall, which is at a similar level.
1:06
So here is the posterior hypopharyngeal wall,
1:11
which tracks inferiorly all the way down as far
1:15
as the inferior border of the cricoid cartilage.
1:20
So once we reach that level, beyond that,
1:23
we are heading into the cervical esophagus.
1:26
So, if we trace up the anterior wall of the hypopharynx
1:32
at this level, we will eventually reach the laryngeal inlet
1:37
at the level of the aryepiglottic folds.
1:43
So in the sagittal plane, this is the laryngeal inlet.
1:47
This is the posterior hypopharyngeal wall,
1:52
and we call the anterior wall at this level below
1:56
the laryngeal inlet, the postcricoid space.
1:59
34 00:02:00,449 --> 00:02:02,800 We need to look at the axial projection in
2:02
order to identify the piriform sinuses which
2:05
are the third subsite of the hypopharynx.
2:10
On the axial projection, the piriform sinuses are formed
2:14
by the lateral border of the aryepiglottic fold here.
2:23
Then we have the piriform sinus which then
2:27
goes all the way around and is continuous
2:29
with the posterior hypopharyngeal wall.
2:34
All the way across to the other side.
2:37
This here is the laryngeal inlet in the axial projection.
2:42
So, let's make some sense of that.
2:46
There are three subsites to the hypopharynx.
2:49
The posterior hypopharyngeal wall, the post
2:53
cricoid space, and the piriform sinuses.
2:56
The regions which are situated around the
3:00
hypopharynx are the oropharynx, superiorly,
3:04
the cervical esophagus, inferiorly, and the supraglottic
3:09
larynx, and indeed the whole larynx anteriorly.
3:13
The important boundaries to remember are the inferior
3:18
border of the cricoid cartilage as the lowermost
3:22
boundary, the lateral border of the aryepiglottic fold,
3:27
which helps to separate the piriform sinuses from the
3:31
supraglottic larynx, and the junction of the laryngeal
3:36
surface of the epiglottis and the aryepiglottic folds,
3:39
59 00:03:40,995 --> 00:03:44,055 which provide a superior level for us.
3:44
In our next vignette, we will go over the
3:47
subsites of the hypopharynx in more detail.
Sidney Levy, PhD, MBBS
Radiologist and Nuclear Medicine Specialist
I-MED
© 2025 Medality. All Rights Reserved.