Vascularization of ossified cartilage and the spread of cancer in the larynx.

Twenty specimens for laryngectomy in extensive cancer of the larynx were examined after injecting the blood vessels with silicone rubber. The behavior of the vessels during the process of destruction of the laryngeal cartilages by the neoplasm were evaluated, as was the part played by the vascular system in spreading cancer in the larynx and its passage beyond the anatomical borders of this organ. Cartilages are damaged by cancer mainly in ossified and vascularized sites. The nonossified and avascular cartilages, on the contrary, are maintained in an almost unchanged condition amid the extensive tumorous masses surrounding them.