These involuntary spasms of the vocal cords cause the voice to change in quality.
She might have screamed, but memory of what happened to Alex froze her vocal cords.
The extreme pain and rapid swelling of the vocal cords - with threatened obstruction to the respiration - that characterize acute laryngitis may often be relieved by the sedative action of this drug upon the circulation.
In the diagram there is indicated the situation of the cortical centres for movement of the vocal cords.
Babies know how to cry when they are born, so using the vocal cords is autonomic – part of the autonomic nervous system.