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Middle pharyngeal constrictor: anatomy, location and function

The middle of the three pharyngeal constrictors. Constricts the pharynx during swallowing.

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Highlighted in the model: Middle pharyngeal constrictor. Click any part to read about it, or switch off “Highlight topic” to see the whole body. 3D data: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0; meshes simplified and recoloured. The model is an adult male.

Middle pharyngeal constrictor at a glance

What it is
The middle of the three pharyngeal constrictors.
Location
Origin: greater and lesser horns of the hyoid and the stylohyoid ligament. Insertion: pharyngeal raphe.
Function
Constricts the pharynx during swallowing.
Body system
Muscular · paired (left and right)
FMA ID
FMA46633 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • Innervation: pharyngeal plexus (vagus nerve, CN X)
  • Stylopharyngeus and the glossopharyngeal nerve enter the pharynx through the gap between the superior and middle constrictors.
  • Its fibres overlap the superior constrictor and are overlapped by the inferior one, like stacked cups.

Structures next to the middle pharyngeal constrictor

The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Middle pharyngeal constrictor (FMA46633). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
  2. OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §11.2 Naming Skeletal Muscles. Rice University, 2022.
  3. Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.

Related anatomy

Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.