On the Air Resistance and the Bernoulli Effect of the Human Larynx

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Abstract
A model of the larynx has been constructed, and measurements of air resistance for this model have been made. The dc resistance R was measured for diameter d of the glottis from 0.1 to 3.2 mm, for subglottic pressuresPs up to 64 cm water and/or volume velocities v up to 2 liters/sec. To a good approximation, the resistance was equal to the sum of a frictional term, proportional to d −3, and a turbulence term, proportional to vd −2. The frictional term dominates at small diameters and/or small volume velocities, with v proportional to Psd 3 and the differential resistance Rd=R. The turbulence term dominates at large diameters and/or large volume velocities, with v proportional to P s 1 2 d and Rd = 2R. Over the major region the pressure at the outlet of the glottis was about − 1 2 P B , where PB is the kinetic pressure in the glottis, and the pressure over the entry of the glottis was about 1.37PB . The applicability and the implications of the results to various problems of normal voice production are discussed.

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