Cadaveric position of vocal cords is seen in:

In bilateral recurrent and superior laryngeal nerve palsy all the laryngeal muscles are paralysed and both cords lie in the cadaveric position i.e 3.5mm from the midline. There is also total anaesthesia of the larynx. In bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy, vocal cords lie in median or paramedian position due to unapposed action of cricothyroid muscles. In unilateral paralysis of superior laryngeal nerve, there is shoening of the cord with loss of tension. The paralysed cord appears wavy due to lack of tension.