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To the Editor.—
During the past several years, I have been using a cranial nerve sign that has some value in the diagnosis of vocal cord paralysis. To my knowledge, it has never been described before. I have named it the reduction of vocal cord vibration. The vocal cords adduct and vibrate during a prolonged e sound. Palpation of these vibrations can be done by applying slight pressure, with the fingers close together, on the superior part of the anterior triangle of the neck. This triangle is bounded in front by the midline of the neck, behind by the anterior border of the sternomastoid muscle, and its base is formed by the lower margin of the body of the mandible. The examiner feels the vibration on one side of the neck and compares it with the one on the opposite side. If the vocal cords are normal, the vibrations are