2021 Volume 72 Issue 4 Pages 187-195
Due to its anatomical advantages in terms of proximity to the skin, and little comorbidity concerning vessels or nerves, the cricothyroid membrane (CTM) has been considered the first choice route to the airway in surgical airway management. However, fatal bleeding has been reported as one of the serious comorbidities arising from cricothyroidotomy/cricothyrotomy, so airway surgeons must be aware of precise anatomical features around the CTM. In this study, vascular anatomy as well as the size of the CTM were evaluated in Japanese cadavers. Seven male and 2 female cadavers were incorporated into the study. The cricothyroid artery originating from the superior thyroid artery was observed in 7 cadavers. All of these arteries were located in the upper one-third of the CTM, and a descending branch of the cricothyroid artery over the CTM was observed in 6 cadavers. Furthermore, the pyramidal lobe of the thyroid gland was located close to the midline of the CTM in 4 cadavers. The mean values of maximum width between the bilateral cricothyroid muscles in male and female were 12.3 mm and 9.5 mm, respectively. As for the vertical height of the CTM, the mean distances measured between the superior border of the cricoid cartilage and the inferior thyroid notch in male and female were 10.1 mm, and 9.3 mm, respectively. We believe that our results may aid airway surgeons in understanding vessel variation and anatomical size of the CTM in Japanese, for safe performance of cricothyroidotomy/cricothyrotomy.
