Stylohyoid at a glance
- What it is
- A slender suprahyoid muscle running from the styloid process to the hyoid bone.
- Location
- Originates from the styloid process and inserts onto the body of the hyoid bone at the junction with the greater horn.
- Function
- Elevates and retracts the hyoid bone during swallowing.
- Body system
- Muscular · paired (left and right)
- FMA ID
- FMA45827 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- Innervation: facial nerve (CN VII)
- The tendon of digastric passes through a split in its insertion
Structures next to the stylohyoid
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- Stylohyoid ligament · skeletal
- Digastric · muscular
- Stylopharyngeus · muscular
- Superior pharyngeal constrictor · muscular
- Middle pharyngeal constrictor · muscular
- Salpingopharyngeus · muscular
- Levator veli palatini · muscular
- Pterygomandibular raphe · muscular
- Internal carotid artery · cardiovascular
- Uvular muscle · muscular
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: Stylohyoid (FMA45827). 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.