The larynx (French: le larynx) is an irregular tubular dilatation of the respiratory tract proper which connects the pharynx with the trachea and transmits air to the actual respiratory passages.

It is situated in front of the laryngeal portion of the pharynx in the so-called laryngeal region of the neck, and is opposite the lower three cervical vertebrae; superiorly it is intimately connected with the hyoid bone and inferiorly with the trachea. In the median line its anterior wall is immediately beneath the cervical integument, from which it is separated only by the superficial layer of the deep cervical fascia and, in the male sex particularly, it produces the so-called laryngeal prominence (Adam's apple). The lateral portions of the anterior laryngeal wall, as well as the lateral walls of the organ, are covered by the platysma, the sternohyoidei, the sternothyreoidei, the thyreohyoidei, the omohyoidei (anterior bellies), and partly by the thyreoid gland, and a portion of the laryngeal wall is also concealed by the constrictor pharyngis inferior, which arises from the laryngeal skeleton. The posterior laryngeal wall is invested by the pharyngeal mucous membrane and constitutes the anterior wall of the laryngeal portion of the pharynx.

The larynx consists of the laryngeal skeleton, which is formed by cartilages and provided with ligaments and joints, the laryngeal muscles, the mucous membrane, and the laryngeal vessels and nerves.