Advanced Voice & Upper Airway Disorders Practice Exam

In the vocal folds, the pliable cover is made of the epithelium plus the superficial lamina propria, while the stiff body is the vocal ligament formed by the deeper lamina propria. The boundary between these two regions is at the point where the superficial lamina propria ends and the vocal ligament begins—the transition from the flexible cover to the firmer body. The basement membrane zone lies between the epithelium and the lamina propria, not at the interface with the deeper layers, and the epithelium and superficial lamina propria are both part of the pliable cover, not the boundary with the stiff body.