Normal configuration of the anterior commissure of the glottis on magnetic resonance imaging.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the normal width of the anterior commissure of the glottis by measuring its dimensions in patients who had no laryngeal disease on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but had unrelated cervical pathology. In all, 27 patients were studied. Axial images through the arytenoid commissure at the level of the vocalis muscle and/or vocal process of the arytenoid cartilage were magnified on MRI. The anteroposterior width of the anterior commissure was measured by using an electronic ruler having 1-mm marks. The average width of the anterior commissure was 1.59 +/- 0.6 mm, varying from a minimum width of 1 mm to a maximum width of 3 mm. The width was less than or equal to 2 mm in 25 patients (92.5%). Our results showed that all of the patients studied had measurable mucosal thicknesses at the level of anterior commissure > or = 1.0 mm.