Other overviews illustrated ideas in TONGUE, PHARYNX and THROAT or GULLET. Presented here is an overview of LARYNX and VOICE along with ideas about SOUND, SONORITY, STENTOR SHRIEK, SCREAM, SONG, GULLET and COLLAR. The exposed ideas are interconnected and in the interest of clarity, the links to explanatory notes shown in the left column are cumulative to avoid fragmenting ideas concerned with nutrition, speech and respiration. The latter is a subject for future explorations.

STRUCTURALLY, the LARYNX is a box like cavity connecting the throat or FAUCES with the trachea or windpipe. In a manner of speaking, it is a FAUCET like organ held open by nine cartilages. The most prominent is the THYROID cartilage or "Adam's apple", from Greek thyreos for "shield like" (OID). The other cartilages; hyOID, arythenOID, cricOID, CORNiculate, CUNEiform and epiGLOTTis, are so named as to reflect their morphology or shape.

FUNCTIONALLY, the larynx has to do with VOICE or SOUND generation and serves as a RESPIRATory canal.

Regarding SOUND generation. The larynx functions as the MOUTH of the windpipe reflected in the Greek term GLOTTIDOS. The windpipe or trachea is shielded by the GLOTTIS, renamed by Galen as EPIGLOTTIS. As nutrients are being swallowed, the epiglottis, a flap or valve like cartilage, seals the entrance to the larynx. Otherwise food may be asPIRATEd and cause an individual that insPIRES food to exPIRE.

The ancients felt that after humanity emerged from the golden age, it has slowly degenerated to reach its current iron age status. Secular and ecclesiastic authorities have often resorted to crushing LARYNGES to execute those whom they deemed undesirable. The Authorities' favored methods were strangling or hanging while others resorted to DEGOLLO, Spanish for "to cut the GULLET or COLLAR", until Dr. J. J. Guillotin (1738 - 1814) facilitated such matters further.

NOISES can be emitted by many body parts but the LARYNX generates SOUNDS or SONIDO in Spanish. The critical difference between SOUND and NOISE is that SOUNDS have meaning. SONATAS and SONNETS also are meaningful. Even to strangers, VOICE sounds modulated as a WORD, LAUGH, GIGGLE, CRY, SCREAM, SHRIEK or SONG which convey diverse  meanings. All normal infants cry, chuckle, scream before they learn how to SPEAK.

In Mythology, STENTOR represents those who have a thunderous or SONOrous voice. CALLIope represents those who have a beautiful voice. As a daughter of MNEMOSINE or MEMORY and sister of eight other MUSES, CALLIope was so named to remind humans of KALOS or beauty and OPS for voice. We find KALOS in CALIFORNIA and OPS in OPERA. While California is or was beautiful, Opera thrives on the beauty of the human voice. Regarding carnal beauty, the ancients named Venus as CALLIPYGIAN to draw attention to her beautiful PYGIa or buttocks. The message is not lost on modern women living in CALIfornia among whom many resort to CALLIsthenics with the hope to enhance their PYGIan morphology.

Calliope had a son ORPHEUS who gave us the cythara that evolved into the guitar. Orpheus sang so well and his voice was so MELodious that he could MELlow the beasts and LULL stormy seas. All parents should know that humming a song or singing a LULLaby can LULL a child to sleep.

More formally, sociologists know that to have a VOICE has to do with WORD and those who use words can become VOCAL, a critical step toward demanding the right to VOTE. However, many forget that these are older ideas than western democracies. In Sanskrit and in Ukrainian, HOLOS, HOLOSNO and HOLOSUVATY stand for VOICE, LOUD and to be counted or VOTING.

Alcohol induced Singing.	Bards offer musical and poetic versions of history.

Another AMUSING view is that the MUSES gave us MUSIC which when combined with VOICE gives us the array SING, SANG, SUNG, SONG. Humans and birds, among other animals, SING VERNAL mating and other SONGS. It was much later that the OPUS of Giocchino ROSSINI (1792-1868) consisting of 39 OPERAS defined BEL CANTO or beautiful singing as the effortless delivery of florid music with mastery. A resurgence of BEL CANTO is attributed to the great voice of DIVA Maria CALLAS [#] . Her DIVINE singing, however, failed to retain her paramour, Mr. Onassis, who abandoned her for another who was VOCAL in other ways.

Charmed, Disarmed, Mesmerized and Captivated by the beauty and resonance of Homer's Poetry.	Charming Ladies with Poetry

Contrary to VOCAbularies and LANGUAges, which are heterogeneous, music and poetry are more universal. OPERA blends poetry with music as does poetry in general. It is true that "poetry explained is poetry destroyed" and that poetry can not be reduced by reason nor beauty explained by logic. With this in mind, it can be said that both poetry and music are sounds soaked in emotion.

Words, sounds and music have a strong impact on PSYCHE who is portrayed to be as frail as a butterfly. Words can arouse, irritate, calm or hypnotize. Words also are a form of nourishment that can stimulate or distort the growth and development of children. The ancients knew such facts now rediscovered by psycho therapists - word roots link verbosity with creation and hormones. From Ukrainian we get POImai, POImen, POId, POI and from Greek POIein, POIesis, POIetin which stand for to understand, alphabet, nourishment, sing, create, poesy and growth hormone. Furthermore, classic mythology pays tribute to ORPHEUS who lulled with words the wildest animals and to whom, perhaps, every mother who LULLs her baby by humming a LULLABY, pays tribute.

Mother lolling and charming her child and vice versa.

... "Summer time ... and the living is easy ...
... sleep baby, sleep ..."
(from Porgy and Bess)

... spy detyno, spy
(from a Ukrainian Lullaby)