Which nerve provides motor innervation to the cricothyroid muscle?

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Multiple Choice

Which nerve provides motor innervation to the cricothyroid muscle?

The cricothyroid muscle is the only intrinsic laryngeal muscle that gets its motor input from the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve, a branch of the vagus nerve. This branch travels to the cricothyroid and supplies its action of tensing the vocal cords, which adjusts pitch. The recurrent laryngeal nerve, by contrast, innervates all the other intrinsic laryngeal muscles (like the thyroarytenoid, vocalis, and the glottal abductors/adductors), not the cricothyroid. The internal branch of the superior laryngeal nerve is sensory to the laryngeal mucosa above the vocal cords, while the hypoglossal nerve innervates tongue muscles and does not contribute to laryngeal motor function.

The cricothyroid muscle is the only intrinsic laryngeal muscle that gets its motor input from the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve, a branch of the vagus nerve. This branch travels to the cricothyroid and supplies its action of tensing the vocal cords, which adjusts pitch. The recurrent laryngeal nerve, by contrast, innervates all the other intrinsic laryngeal muscles (like the thyroarytenoid, vocalis, and the glottal abductors/adductors), not the cricothyroid. The internal branch of the superior laryngeal nerve is sensory to the laryngeal mucosa above the vocal cords, while the hypoglossal nerve innervates tongue muscles and does not contribute to laryngeal motor function.

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