MadSci Network: Anatomy
Query:

Re: Why do some girls have Adam's apples?

Date: Mon Mar 27 09:43:16 2000
Posted By: Leslie Gartner, Faculty Histology/Anatomy, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
Area of science: Anatomy
ID: 954019021.An
Message:

Dear Jacquelin,

First of all, let me reassure you that even if you had an exceptionally large Adam's apple you would NOT be an anatomical freak. With that in mind let me tell you a bit about the Adam's apple. It is actually called the larynx and it is composed of several cartilages, muscles, ligaments, and connective tissue. The largest of these are the two (right side and left side) thyroid cartilages that look somewhat rectangular. They are arranged with their long side directed vertically, and the edges of the long side meet at an angle in the midline of the neck. You can see pictures of this in any Anatomy book (or Anatomy and Physiology book that you can get in your College Library). You can feel these by placing you index finger on the middle of your lower jaw (where some people, like Kirk Douglass, have an elongated dimple). If you now lift your head up and slide your finger directly down you'll feel a hard bony structure. If you now position your head so that you're looking straight ahead, your finger should feel a "V-shaped" notch. That is the top of the right and left thyroid cartilages. As you slide your index finger even farther down (or if you keep your finger steady and swallow) you'll feel the region where these two cartilages meet with each other and to the right and left of the edge you can feel the cartilages themselves. These cartilages are the same size in boys and girls prior to puberty. After puberty they grow in size in both sexes, however, they grow bigger in males and the angle at which the thyroid cartilages meet becomes more acute in males than in females. Also, the postpubertal female has more fat in her neck than does the male. This fat helps to hide the larynx a little bit, therefore, in males the larynx becomes more pronounced.

You stated in your question that "Recently I noticed that I have a noticable adam's apple. I am a girl, so this was slightly distressing." If it is only recently that you've noticed it then it cannot be overly large, which would mean that your larynx (Adam's apple) is within the normal range for a female. If, on the other hand you've noticed that it grew considerably in the past few months, you may want to ask your family physician to look at it for you, especially if you have developed other changes in the way you're feeling (more tired than usual or more "jumpy" than usual, depressed, etc). The reason why I am suggesting this is because some people develop slight problems with their thyroid glands (such as simple goiter) that can be treated as easily as increasing your iodine intake (and that is why salt is iodinated in the USA) or with thyroid medicines.

I hope this helps and if you'd like more information let me know.

Leslie P. Gartner, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Anatomy
Department of OCBS
Dental School
University of Maryland at Baltimore


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