The larynx is the part of your throat that contains your vocal cords and helps produce your voice. It's a small but complex structure made of cartilage (the same flexible material in your ears and nose) that sits at the top of your windpipe, near the bump on the front of your neck called the Adam's apple.

When you speak or sing, air from your lungs passes through the larynx and makes your vocal cords vibrate, creating sound. By tightening or loosening these cords, you change the pitch of your voice. When you whisper, your vocal cords are held apart and barely vibrate. When you shout, they vibrate much more forcefully.

The larynx does more than just help you talk. It also acts as a protective gateway to your lungs. When you swallow, a small flap called the epiglottis closes over your larynx to help prevent food and water from going down the wrong pipe into your lungs. That choking feeling when something “goes down the wrong way” happens when your larynx's protective system gets overwhelmed.

During puberty, boys' larynxes grow larger, which is why their voices usually get deeper. This growth can also make the Adam's apple more noticeable. Girls' larynxes grow too, just not as dramatically, which is one reason women typically have higher-pitched voices than men.