Adam's Apple
Historical document, translated for reference. It reflects medical knowledge of the 1920s–30s and is not medical advice.
Summary
Adam's apple is a traditional name for the laryngeal prominence formed by the thyroid cartilage, which is more prominent in men due to a sharper angle of cartilage fusion. The term originates from a mistranslation of Arabic anatomical terms by medieval monks, later rendered as pomum Adami.
Encyclopedia entry (1928–1936)
ADAM'S APPLE, a sometimes used name for the projection of the upper edge of the thyroid cartilage, which is observed in men, especially those with low voices, and is due to the joining of the plates of this cartilage at a more acute angle than in women, in whom the anteroposterior dimension of the larynx is small, the vocal cords are short, and the voices are high. By the term "apple," Arabs designated many protrusions in the human body, including the laryngeal one; man in Arabic is "adam," and the translating monks created the term "pomum Adami." In modern anatomy, the laryngeal prominence is called prominentia laryngea.
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“Adam's Apple.” Soviet Medical Encyclopedia. English translation of Bolshaya Meditsinskaya Entsiklopediya, 1st ed. (Moscow, 1928–1936), ed. N. A. Semashko. https://sovietmedicalencyclopedia.pages.dev/article/adams-apple/