Fig. 3.

Laryngoscopy assay. a Lateral view of our custom endoscopy suite for mice, with labeled components. b An anesthetized mouse in dorsal recumbency undergoing laryngoscopy, with the head gently secured in ear bars. The micromanipulator in image a is used to precisely guide oral insertion, gentle advancement, and precise positioning of the sialendoscope (fitted with a custom laryngoscope) to visualize the larynx. c Representative endoscopic image of the murine larynx at maximum VF abduction during spontaneous breathing, taken from a 30 fps video at baseline (i.e., before surgery). Visible laryngeal structures of interest include the bilateral VFs (black asterisks), epiglottis, aryepiglottic folds (AEF), and pyriform sinuses (PS). In contrast to the human larynx, the VFs of mice retain midline proximity at the dorsal commissure (yellow asterisk), and the ventral commissure is consistently obscured by the epiglottis