AUTONOMIC AND PEPTIDERGIC INNERVATION OF THE HUMAN LARYNX

Autonomic and peptidergic innervation of the human larynx (vocal cords, ventricular folds, epiglottis, subglottic region and recurrent nerves) was studied by application of single and double immunocytochemistry and radioimmunoassay. In all tissues investigated, immunoreactivities for a variety of regulatory peptides were detected and included vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), peptide histidine methionine (PHM), helospectin, neuropeptide Y (NPY), C-flanking peptide of NPY (C-PON), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), substance P and neurokinin A. In the recurrent nerves, only a few peptide-immunoreactive nerve fibers were found. The laryngeal region of the epiglottis and the subglottic region showed characteristic corpuscular nerves containing substance P and CGRP running underneath and within the epithelium.