Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Minimally Invasive Murine Laryngoscopy for Close-Up Imaging of Laryngeal Motion During Breathing and Swallowing
Published on: December 1, 2023
Submucosal nerve hypertrophy in congenital laryngomalacia
Patrick D Munson1, Ali G Saad, Siraj M El-Jamal
1Department of Otolaryngology, Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology, and Arkansas Children's Hospital, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.
Objectives/Hypothesis:
To determine the neuropathologic findings in tissue obtained from children with laryngomalacia at a tertiary-care pediatric hospital.
Study Design:
Retrospective review of consecutive cohort compared with a control group.
Methods:
We reviewed supra-arytenoid pathology specimens from 43 children with severe laryngomalacia and 13 age-matched pediatric autopsy controls. Histopathologic comparison was made of nerve hypertrophy (including nerve perimeter and surface area) among experimental and control pathologic specimens.
Results:
There exists a statistically significant increase in nerve perimeter (P = .001) and nerve surface area (P = .02) in supra-arytenoid specimens in patients with severe laryngomalacia compared with age-matched autopsy supra-arytenoid tissue.
Conclusions:
The pathologic finding of nerve hypertrophy in children with laryngomalacia provides new evidence to support neurologic dysfunction as the etiologic theory of laryngomalacia.
Related Concept Videos
Esophageal Achalasia
Esophageal Strictures-I: Introduction
Etiology
The primary cause of esophageal strictures is long-standing gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), accounting for about 70 to 80% of adult cases. Chronic acid reflux can lead to injury and scarring of the esophageal lining, culminating in...
Myasthenia Gravis ll: Pathophysiology
Larynx
Anatomy of the Larynx
The larynx consists of various components, including cartilage, muscles, and vocal cords. Its structure includes three large unpaired cartilages—the thyroid, cricoid, and epiglottis—and three smaller paired cartilages—the arytenoids, corniculates, and...
