What is the best age for a boy to have an Adam's apple?

Although the Adam's apple seems to be useless, it actually has its unique function. Some experts believe that the Adam's apple is closely related to human health and will also affect a person's voice change. Of course, men's Adam's apples are often quite obvious, so what is the best age for boys to have an Adam's apple? Some people think it is in their teens, while others think it is in their twenties. Which one is correct?

Most men will have an Adam's apple after puberty. So how does the Adam's apple develop and what is its function? To explain these two questions, let's first understand why men develop an Adam's apple during their development. We know that the development of the Adam's apple is related to age and gender. Before puberty, the development of the larynx of men and women is not much different, but by puberty, the larynx of women still does not increase significantly, while the larynx of men increases rapidly under the action of androgens, and the thyroid cartilage located in the neck protrudes forward, increasing the front-to-back diameter of the larynx by nearly one-fold, and the voice becomes a deep male voice. This is the physiological process of the development of the Adam's apple. By understanding this process, we can understand why there is no obvious difference between male and female voices before puberty, that is, the voices of boys and girls are very similar, but after puberty, the front-to-back diameter of the male larynx becomes larger and produces a deep male voice, while the front-to-back diameter of the female larynx becomes smaller and produces a sharp female voice. Just like some musical instruments, the sound of a small-diameter pipe is sharper, and the sound of a large-diameter pipe is thicker. The reason is the same.

Why do some men have a masculine voice but an inconspicuous Adam's apple? Some scholars have conducted clinical research on this and found that some adult men with inconspicuous Adam's apples are very strong track and field athletes, gymnasts, etc. They have well-developed muscles and normal male sexual characteristics. Among these men with inconspicuous Adam's apples, the vast majority are married, have normal childbearing, and have no other abnormalities. Endocrine examinations also show no abnormalities.

Experts have found through investigations on the personal life histories of these men that some of these men have been engaged in high-intensity physical training since before puberty, while others have a history of frequent masturbation when they first began to develop. Such cases account for a large proportion of the respondents. Some scholars believe that this may have led to a large consumption of androgens during puberty, which prevented the thyroid cartilage from fully protruding forward, so that the Adam's apple is not so obvious from the outside. Although the protrusion is not sufficient, the front-to-back diameter of the larynx is still larger than before puberty, so the voice is still masculine. However, some people have thicker necks, obesity, or the thyroid cartilage does not protrude forward in a typical way but expands equally in all directions, so the Adam's apple does not look so obvious.

Fortunately, after investigation and research, it was confirmed that the prominence of the Adam's apple is not necessarily related to the development of the testicles and penis. Although some men have an inconspicuous Adam's apple, their testicles and penis are well developed. Therefore, some medical books no longer use the prominence of the Adam's apple as a criterion for judging whether the development of male secondary sexual characteristics is normal. Some anatomy books even no longer mention the anatomical term Adam's apple. Of course, only those patients with an inconspicuous or undeveloped Adam's apple accompanied by poor development of the internal and external genitalia and a shrill voice need treatment.