| Posterior cricoarytenoid | |
|---|---|
 Muscles of larynx. Side view. Right lamina of thyroid cartilage removed. | |
| Details | |
| Origin | Posterior part of the cricoid |
| Insertion | Posterior surface of muscular process of the arytenoid cartilage |
| Nerve | Recurrent laryngeal nerve branch of the vagus nerve (CN X) |
| Actions | Abducts and laterally rotates arytenoid cartilage, pulling vocal ligaments away from the midline and forward and so opening rima glottidis |
| Antagonist | Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | musculus cricoarytaenoideus posterior |
| TA98 | A06.2.08.004 |
| TA2 | 2196 |
| FMA | 46576 |
| Anatomical terms of muscle | |
The posterior cricoarytenoid muscle is a (bilaterally paired) intrinsic muscle of the larynx. It arises from the cricoid cartilage; it inserts onto the arytenoid cartilage of the same side. It is innervated by the recurrent laryngeal nerve. Each acts to open the vocal folds by pulling the vocal fold of the same side laterally. It participates in the production of sounds.