Motor and sensory innervation of the larynx is provided by the vagus nerve [X].
The cricoid cartilage is the most inferior of the laryngeal cartilages and completely encircles the airway (Fig. 8.210). It is shaped like a signet ring with a broad lamina of cricoid cartilage posterior to the airway and a much narrower arch of cricoid cartilage circling anteriorly.