Anatomy, Head and Neck: Adam's Apple

"Adam’s Apple" is the colloquial term used to describe what is formally termed the laryngeal prominence of the thyroid cartilage. The colloquial name is thought to come from a reference to the forbidden fruit being stuck in Adam’s throat or perhaps a mistranslation of the Hebrew term for the structure described as “the swelling of a man.” It is sometimes called a goozle in parts of the American South, playing on the verb "to guzzle." The laryngeal prominence of the thyroid cartilage is one of the most significant external landmarks in the neck and is very useful for anatomical orientation in procedures such as cricothyroidotomy. It is notably more prominent in males than females, increasing in prominence as a secondary male sex characteristic in puberty, and primarily acts to protect the vocal cords posteriorly. The true vocal folds insert (via the vocal ligament) into the laryngeal surface of the thyroid cartilage at the anterior keel, 1 to 2 cm inferior to the point of maximum projection of the thyroid cartilage. As the larynx enlarges in puberty, this anterior segment further enlarges in males, lengthening the true vocal folds and leading to a deeper voice.