The hyoglossus, thin and quadrilateral, arises from the side of the body and from the whole length of the

greater cornu The hyoid bone (lingual bone or tongue-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 between the base of the mandible and the third cervical verteb ...

of the hyoid bone, and passes almost vertically upward to enter the side of the

tongue The tongue is a muscular organ (anatomy), organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for mastication and swallowing as part of the digestive system, digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper surfa ...

, between the

styloglossus The styloglossus, the shortest and smallest of the three styloid muscles, arises from the anterior and lateral surfaces of the styloid process near its apex, and from the stylomandibular ligament. Passing inferiorly and anteriorly between the int ...

and the inferior longitudinal muscle of the tongue. It forms a part of the floor of submandibular triangle.

Structure

The fibers arising from the body of the hyoid bone overlap those from the

. Structures that are medial/deep to the hyoglossus are the

glossopharyngeal nerve The glossopharyngeal nerve (), also known as the ninth cranial nerve, cranial nerve IX, or simply CN IX, is a cranial nerve that exits the brainstem from the sides of the upper Medulla oblongata, medulla, just anterior (closer to the nose) to t ...

(cranial nerve 9), the stylohyoid ligament and the

lingual artery The lingual artery arises from the external carotid artery between the superior thyroid artery and facial artery. It can be located easily in the tongue. Structure The lingual artery first branches off from the external carotid artery. It runs ...

and

lingual vein The lingual veins begin on the dorsum, sides, and under surface of the tongue, and, passing backward along the course of the lingual artery, end in the internal jugular vein. The vena comitans of the hypoglossal nerve (ranine vein), a branch of co ...

. The lingual vein passes medial to the hyoglossus, and the lingual artery passes deep to the hyoglossus. Laterally, in between the hyoglossus muscle and the mylohyoid muscle lay several important structures (from upper to lower):

sublingual gland The paired sublingual glands are major salivary glands in the mouth. They are the smallest, most diffuse, and the only unencapsulated major salivary glands. They provide only 3-5% of the total salivary volume. There are also two other types of sal ...

, submandibular duct,

lingual nerve The lingual nerve carries sensory innervation from the anterior two-thirds of the tongue. It contains fibres from both the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve (CN V3 ) and from the facial nerve (CN VII). The fibres from the trigeminal nerv ...

vena comitans Vena comitans is Latin for accompanying vein. It refers to a vein that is usually paired, with both veins lying on the sides of an artery. They are found in close proximity to arteries so that the pulsations of the artery aid venous return. Be ...

of hypoglossal nerve, and the

hypoglossal nerve The hypoglossal nerve, also known as the twelfth cranial nerve, cranial nerve XII, or simply CN XII, is a cranial nerve that innervates all the extrinsic and intrinsic muscles of the tongue except for the palatoglossus, which is innervated by ...

. Note, posteriorly, the

is superior to the submandibular duct and a portion of the submandibular

salivary gland The salivary glands in mammals are exocrine glands that produce saliva through a system of ducts. Humans have three paired major salivary glands (parotid, submandibular, and sublingual), as well as hundreds of minor salivary glands. Salivary gla ...

protrudes into the space between the hyoglossus and

mylohyoid muscle The mylohyoid muscle or diaphragma oris is a paired muscle of the neck. It runs from the mandible to the hyoid bone, forming the floor of the oral cavity of the mouth. It is named after its two attachments near the molar teeth. It forms the floor ...

Function

The hyoglossus depresses and retracts the tongue and makes the dorsum more convex.

Additional images

Image:Gray186.png, Hyoid bone. Anterior surface. Enlarged. Image:Gray385.png, Muscles of the neck. Lateral view. Image:Gray513.png, The internal carotid and vertebral arteries. Right side. Image:Gray778.png, Distribution of the maxillary and mandibular nerves, and the submaxillary ganglion. Image:Gray794.png, Hypoglossal nerve, cervical plexus, and their branches. Image:Gray1020.png, Coronal section of

, showing intrinsic muscles. File:Slide3ss.JPG, Hyoglossus Muscle

References

External links

* *
Diagram
{{Authority control Muscles of the head and neck Tongue