The building blocks of English

Affixes

laryng(o)-

The larynx.

Greek larunx, larynx.

The larynx is the hollow organ that conveys air to the lungs and contains the vocal cords; laryngitis is inflammation of the larynx; laryngology is the branch of medicine that deals with the larynx and its diseases; a laryngoscope is an instrument for examining it, or for inserting a tube through it; a laryngectomy (Greek ektomē, excision) is surgical removal of all or part of it; the usual adjective is laryngeal, which in phonetics also refers to a speech sound made in the larynx with the vocal cords partly closed.