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Vallecula
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Vallecula is an anatomic term for a crevice, depression, or furrow in something. There are a variety of valleculae in the human body, including one between the hemispheres of the brain, on the inferior surface of the cerebellum, in which the medulla oblongata is located. Other common valleculae are: in the nail matrix, and in the throat.
Used alone, the term "vallecula" usually applies to the epiglottic vallecula, a depression just behind the root of the tongue between the folds in the throat.
"Vallecula" comes from the Latin word "valles", meaning "valley", and is in the diminutive form of the word, so a vallecula is literally a "little valley".
It is an important landmark in intubation; it is where blade of the laryngoscope is placed to facilitate direct visualization of the glottis.
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