Glossary of Terms in Otolaryngology

Killian’s Triangle

  • Killian’s triangle is an area of natural weakness in the upper esophagus that is the site of origin of a Zenker’s diverticulum.1
  • Boundaries of Killian’s triangle:
    • Superior: inferior constrictor
    • Inferior: cricopharyngeus
  • Other areas of weakness that can give rise to rarer diverticula include the Killian-Jamieson area (Killian-Jamieson diverticulum) and Laimer’s triangle (Laimer’s diverticulum).2
    • The Killian-Jamieson area is bounded by the oblique and transverse fibres of the cricopharyngeus.
    • Laimer’s triangle is bounded superiorly by the inferior border of the cricopharyngeus and inferiorly by the circular muscle muscle fibres of the upper esophagus.

Esophageal diverticula. Killian's triangle, the Killian-Jamieson area, and Laimer's triangle. A diverticulum that arises from Killian's triangle is called a Zenker's diverticulum

  1. Westrin, Karl Magnus, Saim Ergün And, and Bengt Carlsöö. “Zenker’s diverticulum–a historical review and trends in therapy.” Acta oto-laryngologica 116.3 (1996): 351-360. ↩

  2. Zundel, Natan, et al., eds. Benign Esophageal Disease: Modern Surgical Approaches and Techniques. Springer Nature, 2021. ↩

Last updated December 17, 2022
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