Fig. 1

Schematic representation of the top-down manoeuvre (A) and the bottom-up manoeuvre (B) Both of the above figures are shown schematically to clarify the difference in the initial position of the fingers during the examination. The fingers are aligned in the sagittal direction in the figures, but practically, the fingers are re-aligned horizontally after this, and then the landmarks described below are carefully explored at a pinpoint with the fingertips. (A) Fingers identify the thyroid cartilage and then slide down over the neck, exploring a cleft corresponding to the cricothyroid membrane. (B) Fingers identify the suprasternal notch and then slide up over the neck, exploring a hard knob corresponding to the cricoid cartilage. The cricothyroid membrane is located beyond the cartilage.