Reinke Edema finding on positron emission tomography Academic Article uri icon

Overview

MeSH Major

  • Laryngeal Edema
  • Phonation
  • Positron-Emission Tomography
  • Vocal Cords

abstract

  • Long-term cigarette smoke exposure has been described as an etiological factor in a myriad of aberrant conditions of the vocal folds, including carcinoma, and a range of benign responses, including Reinke edema (RE). Clinically, RE is described as unilateral or bilateral swelling of the entire vocal fold with hypermobility during phonation. 1 Although historically RE was thought to be a precancerous lesion, current thinking holds that RE is a benign process characterized by altered number and size of microvessels within the subepithelial space and compromised intercellular junctions, especially in basal and spinous layers. 2 Within the lamina propria, the generally organized collagen architecture is disrupted. 3 Cumulatively, these alterations to the delicate, layered structure of the vocal folds often lead to the characteristic rough, low-pitched voice found in RE. In severe cases, airway obstruction due to marked RE has been reported. ©2011 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.

publication date

  • June 2011

Research

keywords

  • Academic Article

Identity

Language

  • eng

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1001/archoto.2011.35

PubMed ID

  • 21422301

Additional Document Info

start page

  • 620

end page

  • 1

volume

  • 137

number

  • 6