Sternothyroid at a glance
- What it is
- An infrahyoid strap muscle lying deep to sternohyoid.
- Location
- Originates from the posterior manubrium and first costal cartilage and inserts onto the oblique line of the thyroid cartilage.
- Function
- Depresses the larynx after swallowing.
- Body system
- Muscular · paired (left and right)
- FMA ID
- FMA13351 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- Innervation: ansa cervicalis (C2–C3)
- It is wider than sternohyoid and lies directly on the thyroid gland; its attachment to the oblique line limits upward enlargement of a goitre.
- Blood supply: superior thyroid artery
Structures next to the sternothyroid
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- Internal jugular vein · cardiovascular
- Sternohyoid · muscular
- Common carotid artery · cardiovascular
- Inferior thyroid artery · cardiovascular
- Trachea · respiratory
- Thyrocervical trunk · cardiovascular
- Straight part of cricothyroid · muscular
- Brachiocephalic artery · cardiovascular
- Brachiocephalic vein · cardiovascular
- Inferior oblique part of longus colli · muscular
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: Sternothyroid (FMA13351). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
- OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §11.2 Naming Skeletal Muscles. Rice University, 2022.
- 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.