hyoid bone

Bone: Hyoid bone
Hyoid bone. Anterior surface. Enlarged.
Anterolateral view of head and neck.
Latin	os hyoideum
Gray's	subject #45 177
Precursor	2nd and 3rd branchial arch[1]
MeSH	Hyoid+Bone

The hyoid bone (lingual bone) (Latin os hyoideum) is a horseshoe shaped bone situated in the anterior midline of the neck between the chin and the thyroid cartilage. At rest, it lies at the level of the base of the mandible in the front and the third cervical vertebra behind.

It is the only bone in the human skeleton not articulated to any other bone. It is held in place by thyroid ligaments. The hyoid bone provides attachment to the muscles of the floor of the mouth and the tongue above, the larynx below, and the epiglottis and pharynx behind.

Its name is derived from the Greek word hyoeides meaning "shaped like the letter upsilon" (υ).

Segments

The bone consists of a central part, called the body and two pairs of cornua, the greater cornu and the lesser cornu.

• Body of hyoid
• Greater cornu (2)
• Lesser cornu (2)

Embryology

The second pharyngeal arch gives rise to the lesser cornu of hyoid and the superior part of body of hyoid. Its cartilage of the third pharyngeal arch that forms the greater cornu of hyoid and the lower part of the body of hyoid.

Ossification

The hyoid is ossified from six centers: two for the body, and one for each cornu. Ossification commences in the greater cornua toward the end of fetal life, in the body shortly afterward, and in the lesser cornua during the first or second year after birth. Till middle age the connection between the body and greater cornu is fibrous.

Muscle attachments

The following muscles are attached to the hyoid:

• Superior
  • Middle pharyngeal constrictor muscle
  • Hyoglossus muscle
  • Digastric muscle
  • Stylohyoid muscle
  • Geniohyoid muscle
  • Mylohyoid muscle
  • Genioglossus
• Inferior
  • Thyrohyoid muscle
  • Omohyoid muscle
  • Sternohyoid muscle

Function

Though the hyoid bone is present in many mammals, its descent in living creatures is unique to Homo sapiens, allowing for the production of a wide range of sounds that other animals cannot produce.^[2] It allows a wider range of tongue, pharyngeal and laryngeal movements by bracing these structures alongside each other in order to produce variation. The discovery of a modern-looking hyoid bone of a Neanderthal man in the Kebara Cave in Israel led its discoverers to argue that the Neanderthals had a descended larynx, and thus human-like speech capabilities.^[3] However, other researchers have claimed that the morphology of the hyoid is not indicative of the larynx's position.^[4]

Fracture and applied anatomy

Due to its position, the hyoid bone is not susceptible to easy fracture. In a suspected case of murder, a fractured hyoid strongly indicates throttling or strangulation. However this is not the case in children and adolescents, where the hyoid bone is still flexible as ossification is yet to be completed.

In other animals

The hyoid bone is derived from the lower half of the second gill arch in fish, which separates the first gill slit from the spiracle, and is often referred to as the hyoid arch. In many animals, it also incorporates elements of other gill arches, and has a correspondingly greater number of cornua. Amphibians and reptiles may have many cornua, while mammals (including humans) have two pairs, and birds only one. In birds, and some reptiles, the body of the hyoid is greatly extended forward, creating a solid bony support for the tongue.^[5]

Additional images

Larynx	Head and neck of a human embryo eighteen weeks old, with Meckel's cartilage and hyoid bone exposed.	Muscles of the pharynx and cheek.	Muscles of the neck. Lateral view.
The internal carotid and vertebral arteries. Right side.	The ligaments of the larynx. Antero-lateral view.	Sagittal section of the larynx and upper part of the trachea.	Coronal section of larynx and upper part of trachea.
The entrance to the larynx, viewed from behind.	Sagittal section of nose mouth, pharynx, and larynx.	Extrinsic muscles of the tongue. Left side.	The thyroid gland and its relations.
Front view of neck.

See also

• Adam's apple
• Bone terminology
• Terms for anatomical location

References

External links

• SUNY Labs 25:03-0101 - "Anterior Triangle of the Neck: The Muscular Triangle"
• Roche Lexicon - illustrated navigator, at Elsevier 25420.000-1
• lesson11 at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University) (larynxskel1)
• Mnemonic:Muscles attached

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.