The epiglottis is made non ossifying of cartilage. It is a C shaped “lid” for the larynx, flipping down to prevent aspiration during swallowing.
It has a free superior margin (suprahyoid portion) and a fixed (infrahyoid) inferior portion, also known as the petiole.
The epiglottis defines the most superior aspect of the supraglottic larynx. It has a midline anterior attachment to the tongue – the glossoepiglottic fold, separating the air spaces anterior to the epiglottis – the valleculae (part of the oropharynx). The lingual tonsil (also part of the oropharynx) lies superior to the valleculae and if hypertrophied can flop into and fill the valleculae.
Two lateral attachments from the pharynx to the epiglottis are the pharyngoepiglottic folds. Posteriorly these define the most superior extent of the pyriform fossae (part of the hypopharynx).
Inferiorly, the aryepiglottic folds pass from the inferolateral aspect of the epiglottis inserting onto the arytenoid cartilages. They define the pyriform fossae laterally and the vestibule of the larynx anteromedially