Glottic closure during swallowing in the recurrent laryngeal nerve-paralyzed cat

Glottic closing pressure and time were quantitatively analyzed during deglutition and in reflex glottic closure elicited by superior laryngeal nerve stimulation by means of a catheter pressure transducer in the cat. Duration and peak pressure of glottic closure during deglutition were 322.6 +/- 32.2 msec (mean +/- SE) and 57.5 +/- 6.0 mmHg, respectively, whereas peak pressure of the reflex glottic closure was 21.7 +/- 6.1 mmHg in control animals. When the recurrent laryngeal nerve was denervated unilaterally, decrease in peak glottic closing pressure on swallowing was only about 36%, whereas the peak pressure of reflex glottic closure was markedly diminished to 4.5 +/- 4.6%. When bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerves denervated, decrease in peak pressure during deglutition showed no greater significance than it did after unilateral denervation. Inferior constrictors myotomy in addition to bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve denervation reduced peak pressure to nearly zero. These results indicate that on swallowing, the inferior constrictors cooperate with the intrinsic laryngeal adductors, thus playing a very important role in reinforcing glottic closure, a function that is unlikely during reflex glottic closure.