Editing Vocal cords (section)

===Puberty===
[[Puberty]] usually lasts from 2 to 5 years, and typically occurs between the ages of 12 and 17. During puberty, voice change is controlled by [[Sex steroid|sex hormones]]. In females during puberty, the vocal muscle thickens slightly, but remains very supple and narrow. The squamous mucosa also differentiates into three distinct layers (the lamina propria) on the free edge of the vocal folds. The sub- and supraglottic glandular mucosa becomes hormone-dependent to estrogens and progesterone. For females, the actions of [[estrogen]]s and [[progesterone]] produce changes in the extravascular spaces by increasing capillary permeability which allows the passage of intracapillary fluids to the interstitial space as well as modification of glandular secretions. Estrogens have a hypertrophic and proliferative effect on mucosa by reducing the desquamating effect on the superficial layers. The [[thyroid hormone]]s also affect dynamic function of the vocal folds; ([[Hashimoto's thyroiditis]] affects the fluid balance in the vocal folds). Progesterone has an anti-proliferative effect on mucosa and accelerates desquamation. It causes a menstrual-like cycle in the vocal fold epithelium and a drying out of the mucosa with a reduction in secretions of the glandular epithelium. Progesterone has a diuretic effect and decreases capillary permeability, thus trapping the [[extracellular fluid]] out of the capillaries and causing tissue congestion.

[[Testosterone]], an androgen secreted by the testes, will cause changes in the cartilages and musculature of the larynx for males during puberty, and to a lesser extent to females [[sex assignment|assigned at birth]] and others such as [[intersex]] individuals as well as those who are androgen deficient if they are given [[masculinizing hormone therapy]]. In females, androgens are secreted principally by the [[adrenal cortex]] and the ovaries and can have irreversible masculinizing effects if present in high enough concentration. In males, they are essential to [[Human male sexuality|male sexuality]]. In muscles, they cause a hypertrophy of striated muscles with a reduction in the fat cells in [[skeletal muscle]]s, and a reduction in the whole body fatty mass. Androgens are the most important hormones responsible for the passage of the boy-child voice to adult male voice, and the change is irreversible without [[reconstructive surgery]] such as [[feminization laryngoplasty]]. The thyroid prominence, which contains the vocal cords appears, the vocal folds lengthen and become rounded, and the epithelium thickens with the formation of  three distinct layers in the lamina propria.<ref>Abitbol, A. & Abitbol, P. (2003). The Larynx: A Hormonal Target. In Rubin, J.S., Sataloff, R.T., & Korovin, G.S. (Eds.), ''Diagnosis and Treatment of Voice Disorders'' (pp. 355-380). Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Learning.</ref> These changes are also irreversible without surgery, albeit the thyroid/laryngeal prominence, also known as an [[laryngeal prominence|Adam's apple]] can be potentially diminished via a [[tracheal shave]] or [[feminization laryngoplasty]].