Voice research and clinical needs.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of recent advances in voice research with special focus on clinical aspects and on the speaking voice. First an update on histological findings concerning the multilayer structure and the biomechanics of the vocal folds is given. Other topics are vocal fold closure patterns, the development of the voice from childhood to senescence, and theoretical aspects of vocal function from an acoustic-aerodynamic point of view. Special emphasis is put on voice parameters, which can be assumed to be relevant to underlying physiology, and how they can be captured by different techniques.