The larynx (voice box) lets you breathe, speak, and keeps food out of your windpipe when you swallow.

Quick Scoop: What the larynx does

  • It acts as a gateway between your throat (pharynx) and windpipe (trachea), guiding air down into your lungs when you breathe.
  • It houses your vocal folds (vocal cords), which vibrate to create sound for speaking, singing, shouting, and other vocal noises.
  • It protects your lower airways by closing during swallowing so food and drink go into the esophagus (food tube), not the trachea, helping prevent choking and aspiration.
  • It helps trigger the cough reflex if something irritating or “wrong” enters the airway, helping clear the throat and protect the lungs.

In one line

You can think of the larynx as a small, cartilage “control hub” in your neck that controls air flow, produces your voice, and guards your lungs every time you swallow.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.