A small U-shaped bone in the upper neck that anchors the tongue and several throat muscles without articulating with any other bone.
Structure
The hyoid has a central body and two pairs of horns called the greater and lesser cornua. It is suspended by ligaments and muscles rather than fused to neighboring bones.
Function
Muscles above the hyoid raise the larynx during swallowing, while those below depress it for speech production. Together they make precise control of tongue and larynx position possible.
Clinical note
Fracture of the hyoid is rare but is a recognized sign of manual strangulation, often examined in forensic autopsies.
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Hyoid Bone starts with H and ends with E. Browse other body parts along the same letter.
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