[Concerning the morphology of the supraglottic submucosa and its relation to the growth of cancer (author's transl)].

The histological structure of the supraglottic submucosa consists of a wide-mesh connective net, which builds compartments where glands are included. Somewhere, the walls of compartments are so thick that they may be considered as true ligaments. Some of them are located at the limit between glottis and supraglottis; therefore one may argue that the so-called "biological vallum", which hinders the downward propagation of supraglottic cancers is not only due to the interruption of lymph ways between vestibulum and vocal chords but also to the presence of this thick connective barrier. Two gaps interrupt the continuity of the barrier, the first one at the anterior commissure, the second at the posterior extremity of the ventricle. The situation of the gaps corresponds to the main directions of propagation of the supraglottic cancers, when they spread inferiorly.