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We believe that medical lectures can be improved by considering techniques from comedy. Foremost, lecturers should educate their audiences. This works well, if lecturers have fun and entertain. In preparing the presentation, they should develop a storyline, try to surprise their audience, prepare to employ unexpected objects and carry out several test runs. During the presentation, lecturers should dare to use self-irony, appeal to students’ emotions, be factual and precise, serve the audience, keep it short and provide memorable opening and closing statements. Medical lectures should be both informative and entertaining.

Objectives/Hypothesis: The anatomy of the posterior glottis, specifically the states of the posterior glottis during phonation, has not been thoroughly explored in laryngology. Conventional wisdom about the posterior glottis indicates that it tends to be completely closed in men but may be open in women. Furthermore, professional singers are expected to have a completely closed posterior glottis. The aim of this study was to investigate whether these generalizations are true by comparing rigid videolaryngostroboscopy results with high‐resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and three‐dimensional (3D) reconstruction findings. Study Design Prospective study. Methods: Of the 90 volunteers (58 women, 32 men) examined, 48 were female professional singers, 10 were female nonsingers, 22 were male professional singers, and 10 were male nonsingers. Rigid videolaryngostroboscopy as well as HRCT scans were performed during singing at the average singing fundamental frequency. HRCT images of the larynx and air‐column were 3D visualized using the software MIMICS®. The states of the posterior glottis were assessed in both examinations and compared among participants. Results: The sensitivity of endoscopy was 67.5%. Complete closure of the posterior glottis was observed in 62.5% men and 52% women (P =.33). Complete closure of the posterior glottis was observed in 35% nonsingers and 61% professional singers (P =.036). Conclusions: The closure of the posterior glottis seen on videolaryngostroboscopy does not always correlate with actual closure. There seems to be no link between sex and complete closure of the glottis. However, there is strong evidence that posterior glottis closure can be influenced, to some degree, by vocal training. Level of Evidence: 4 Laryngoscope, 132:124–129, 2022 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Vocal fold (VF) elongation vocal folds depends on two factors: the activity of the laryngeal muscles and the cricothyroid joint (CTJ). The aim of the study was to show the influence of the CTJ on VF elongation while singing a sustained vowel at different pitches.Study Design: Prospective study.Methods: Forty-nine female professional singers (25 sopranos, 24 altos) were recruited. Three-dimensional images of the larynx derived from high-resolution computed tomography scanning were obtained at the mean speaking fundamental frequency (F0) and one (F1) and two octaves (F2) above this pitch.Results: From F0 to F1, all three CTJ types showed equal elongation of the VF (type A: 14%, type B/C: 13%). From F1 to F2, VF elongation was 8% in singers with type A and 4% in those with type B/C (P < 0.0001).Conclusion: The stability of the CTJ directly influences VF during singing. This is the first study to show this relationship in vivo.Level Of Evidence: 4. Laryngoscope, 128:1176-1181, 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The vocal range of untrained singers rarely exceeds one and a half octaves, but professional singers have a range of at least two and a half octaves. The aim of this study was to better understand the muscle and cartilage movements responsible for the control of vocal pitch in singing.Study Design: Prospective study.Methods: We recruited 49 female professional singers (25 sopranos and 24 altos) and analyzed laryngeal three-dimensional images derived from high-resolution computed tomography scans obtained at the mean speaking fundamental frequency (F0) and at one (F1) and two octaves (F2) above this pitch.Results: From F0 to F1, the only observable movement was a backward cricoid tilting caused by the cricothyroid muscles (CTMs), leading to vocal fold stretching. Above F1, a medial rotation and inward rocking of the arytenoid cartilages was observed, caused by the lateral cricothyroid muscles (LCAMs) and leading to inferior displacement of the vocal process of the arytenoid cartilage, and thus to further vocal fold stretching.Conclusion: Trained singers achieve the first octave of pitch elevation by simple cricothyroid approximation. Further pitch elevation necessitates a complex movement of the arytenoids, first by CTM contraction and second by LCAM contraction.Level Of Evidence: 4. Laryngoscope, 127:1639-1643, 2017. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]