Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A ring-shaped cartilage of the lower larynx that articulates with the thyroid cartilage and artenoid cartilages.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In anatomy, ring-like: as, the cricoid cartilage. See II.
  • noun The more or less modified and specialized first tracheal ring or cartilage, coming next to the thyroid cartilage of the larynx. In man it resembles a signet-ring, being expanded posteriorly. It is connected with the thyroid cartilage by the cricothyroid membrane and other structures.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective (Anat.) Resembling a ring; -- said esp. of the cartilage at the larynx, and the adjoining parts.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective anatomy Shaped like a ring, usually with reference to the cricoid cartilage.
  • noun anatomy The cricoid cartilage.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[New Latin cricoīdēs, from Greek krikoeidēs, ring-shaped : krikos, ring; see sker- in Indo-European roots + -oeidēs, -oid.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek κρικοειδής (krikoeidēs, "ring-shaped"), from κρίκος ("ring").

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Examples

  • Also called cricoid pressure, the eponymous maneuver has for decades been described as the pinching of the esophagus between the cricoid - a ring of cartilage that surrounds the trachea

    Health News from Medical News Today 2009

  • The cricoid is shaped like a signet ring and forms part of the anterior and lateral walls, as well as most of the posterior walls, of the larynx.

    The Respiratory System: Anatomy 101 2007

  • The arytenoid consists of two pyramid shaped cartilage that lie at the back of the larynz at the upper edge of the cricoid.

    The Respiratory System: Anatomy 101 2007

  • She wondered if he was or if the blow had broken the cricoid cartilage.

    Firestorm Barr, Nevada 1996

  • You would have had a very amateur tracheotomy: that knife grazed right past the cricoid cartilage.

    Dark Mirror Diane Duane 1993

  • Wolf went for the cricoid cartilage at Kamiwara's throat because crushing it would be fatal, and he had to find an end to this before the fatigue overwhelmed him, before Kamiwara could gain the upper hand with his size and strength.

    Black Blade Lustbader, Eric Van 1992

  • The guard dropped the gun, and Nicholas slammed the heel of his hand into the guard's neck just beneath the chin, crushing the cricoid cartilage.

    Floating City Lustbader, Eric 1990

  • 'The coroner's report indicates a double fracture of the cricoid cartilage.

    The Ninja Lustbader, Eric 1980

  • The cricoid cartilage was imperfect in form; the hyo-epiglottic muscles very strong.

    Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society - Vol. 3 Zoology Various

  • Wounds of the throat inflicted by suicides are commonly situated at the upper part, involving the hyoid bone and the thyroid and cricoid cartilages.

    Aids to Forensic Medicine and Toxicology

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