Video: Stylohyoid muscle

Well, hello again everyone! This is Matt from Kenhub, and today, we will be discussing the stylohyoid muscle. The suprahyoid muscles are four muscles running from the mandible to the hyoid bone. Together with adjacent tissue, they form the floor of the mouth. The stylohyoid muscle is one of the suprahyoid muscles and will be the focus of today's video tutorial.

The stylohyoid muscle extends from the styloid process of temporal bone to the lesser horn of the hyoid bone accompanied by the posterior belly of the digastric muscle. In its distal part, the muscle divides into two tendons. The muscle is supplied by the facial nerve.

The suprahyoid muscles do not only form the floor of the mouth but play an important role in chewing, swallowing and speech. In combination with the infrahyoid muscles, they are responsible for the positioning of the hyoid bone. In detail, the digastric and stylohyoid elevate the hyoid during swallowing while also pulling the hyoid backwards and help keep the mouth open. All in all, due to their contribution during mastication, the suprahyoid muscles are also referred to as accessory muscles of mastication.

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