| Hyoid | |
|---|---|
 The hyoid bone, present at the front of the neck, has a body and two sets of horns | |
| Details | |
| Precursor | Second and third branchial arch[1] |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | os hyoideum |
| MeSH | D006928 |
| TA98 | A02.1.16.001 |
| TA2 | 876 |
| FMA | 52749 |
| Anatomical terms of bone | |
The hyoid bone (lingual bone or tongue-bone) (/ˈhaɪɔɪd/[2][3]) is a horseshoe-shaped bone situated in the anterior midline of the neck between the chin and the thyroid cartilage. At rest, it lies between the base of the mandible and the third cervical vertebra.
Unlike other bones, the hyoid is only distantly articulated to other bones by muscles or ligaments. It is the only bone in the human body that is not connected to any other bones. The hyoid is anchored by muscles from the anterior, posterior and inferior directions, and aids in tongue movement and swallowing. 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.[citation needed]
Its name is derived from Greek hyoeides 'shaped like the letter upsilon (υ)'.[4][5]
- ^ hednk-023—Embryo Images at University of North Carolina
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary 2nd edition, 1989.
- ^ Entry "hyoid" Archived 2011-12-29 at the Wayback Machine in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary Archived 2017-09-22 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Dorland illustrated medical dictionary
- ^ American heritage dictionary for English language