Tongue, hyoid and larynx displacement in swallow and phonation

¹ Department of Pediatrics and the Speech and Hearing Clinic, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah

Cinefluorographic observations of the pharyngeal portion of the tongue and of the hyoid and larynx of 10 persons were reported during the following physiological acts: deglutition while in upright and in supine positions, phonation of the sound m and phonation of the sound m in the falsetto voice. The patterns of displacement in deglutition were found to be consistent among and within subjects for the 10 subjects. Consistent patterns were not found in the phonation series, but various similarities of phonation and deglutition were noted. The conclusions were reached that performance of swallow may be used to evaluate motor performance in the pharyngeal region and that understanding of pharyngeal physiology requires a multistructural approach. The concept of a unified tongue-hyoid-larynx column was endorsed.