Stylohyoid muscle
Encyclopedia
The stylohyoid muscle is a slender muscle
Muscle
Muscle is a contractile tissue of animals and is derived from the mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells. Muscle cells contain contractile filaments that move past each other and change the size of the cell. They are classified as skeletal, cardiac, or smooth muscles. Their function is to...

, lying anterior, and superior of the posterior belly of the digastric muscle
Digastric muscle
The digastric muscle is a small muscle located under the jaw. so digastric muscles are muscle fibers in ligament of treitz ,omohyoid , occipitofrontalis....

. It shares this muscle's innervation by the facial nerve
Facial nerve
The facial nerve is the seventh of twelve paired cranial nerves. It emerges from the brainstem between the pons and the medulla, and controls the muscles of facial expression, and functions in the conveyance of taste sensations from the anterior two-thirds of the tongue and oral cavity...

, and functions to draw the hyoid bone backwards and elevate the tongue.

Origin and insertion

It arises from the posterior and lateral surface of the styloid process
Styloid process (temporal)
The styloid process is a pointed piece of bone that extends down from the human skull, just below the ear.-Structure:The styloid process is a slender pointed piece of bone just below the ear...

 of the temporal bone
Temporal bone
The temporal bones are situated at the sides and base of the skull, and lateral to the temporal lobes of the cerebrum.The temporal bone supports that part of the face known as the temple.-Parts:The temporal bone consists of four parts:* Squama temporalis...

, near the base; and, passing inferior and anterior, is inserted into the body of the hyoid bone
Hyoid bone
The hyoid bone 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.Unlike other bones, the hyoid is only distantly...

, at its junction with the greater cornu, and just superior the omohyoid muscle
Omohyoid muscle
The omohyoid muscle is a muscle at the front of the neck that consists of two bellies separated by an intermediate tendon. It belongs to the group of infrahyoid muscles...

. It thus belongs to the group of suprahyoid muscles
Suprahyoid muscles
The term suprahyoid refers to the region above the hyoid bone in the neck. The suprahyoid muscles include digastric, stylohyoid, geniohyoid, and mylohyoid...

.

It is perforated, near its insertion, by the intermediate tendon of the digastric muscle
Digastric muscle
The digastric muscle is a small muscle located under the jaw. so digastric muscles are muscle fibers in ligament of treitz ,omohyoid , occipitofrontalis....

.

Variations

It may be absent or doubled, lie beneath the carotid artery
Carotid artery
Carotid artery can refer to:* Common carotid artery* External carotid artery* Internal carotid artery...

, or be inserted into the omohyoid, or mylohyoid
Mylohyoid muscle
The mylohyoid muscle is a muscle running from the mandible to the hyoid bone, forming the floor of the oral cavity. It is named for its two attachments, with the prefix "mylo" coming from the Greek word for "molar". These muscles are mesodermal in origin...

muscles.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK