title: Hoarseness: contemporary diagnosis and management.
abstract: "Hoarseness" is the term used by most people to describe a change in normal voice quality. It is a very nonspecific term somewhat similar to a patient's complaint of dizziness when describing symptoms from light-headedness to true vertigo. Hoarseness may imply breathiness, roughness, voice breaks, or unnatural changes in pitch. Laryngologists use the general term "dysphonia" to describe abnormal voice quality with no specific etiology implied. A complaint of hoarseness may represent serious disease and, therefore, should not be ignored, especially if it persists for more than two weeks. Before we proceed with a discussion of abnormal voice, it is imperative to understand normal voice production and the relative anatomy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-2559, USA.
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Garrett
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Ossoff
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006685:Hoarseness / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans