The temporal styloid process is a slender bony process of the

temporal bone The temporal bones are situated at the sides and base of the skull, and lateral to the temporal lobes of the cerebral cortex. The temporal bones are overlaid by the sides of the head known as the temples, and house the structures of the ears. ...

extending downward and forward from the undersurface of the

just below the ear. The styloid process gives attachments to several muscles, and ligaments.

Structure

The styloid process is a slender and pointed bony process of the temporal bone projecting anteroinferiorly from the inferior surface of the

just below the ear. Its length normally ranges from just under 3 cm to just over 4 cm. It is usually nearly straight, but may be curved in some individuals. Its ''proximal'' (''tympanohyal'') ''part'' is ensheathed by the tympanic part of the temporal bone ''(vaginal process), whereas'' its ''distal (stylohyal)'' ''part'' gives attachment to several structures.

Attachments

The styloid process gives attachments to several muscles, and ligaments. It serves as an anchor point for several muscles associated with the

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

and

larynx The larynx (), commonly called the voice box, is an organ in the top of the neck involved in breathing, producing sound and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. The opening of larynx into pharynx known as the laryngeal inlet is about ...

. *

stylohyoid ligament The stylohyoid ligament is a ligament that connects the hyoid bone to the temporal styloid process (of the temporal bone of the skull). Structure The stylohyoid ligament connects the lesser horn of hyoid bone to the styloid process of the t ...

stylomandibular ligament The stylomandibular ligament is the thickened posterior portion of the investing cervical fascia around the neck. It extends from near the apex of the styloid process of the temporal bone to the angle and posterior border of the angle of the man ...

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 ...

muscle (innervated by 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 ...

) *

stylohyoid muscle The stylohyoid muscle is a slender muscle, lying anterior and superior of the posterior belly of the digastric muscle. It is one of the suprahyoid muscles. It shares this muscle's innervation by the facial nerve, and functions to draw the hyoid ...

(innervated by the

facial nerve The facial nerve, also known as the seventh cranial nerve, cranial nerve VII, or simply CN VII, is a cranial nerve that emerges from the pons of the brainstem, controls the muscles of facial expression, and functions in the conveyance of taste ...

) *

stylopharyngeus The stylopharyngeus is a muscle in the head that stretches between the temporal styloid process and the pharynx. Structure The stylopharyngeus is a long, slender muscle, cylindrical above, flattened below. It arises from the medial side of the ...

muscle (innervated by 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, just anterior (closer to the nose) to the vagus nerve. ...

)

Relations

The parotid gland is situated laterally to the styloid process, the external carotid artery passes by its apex, the facial nerve crosses its base, and the attachment of the stylopharyngeus muscle separates it from the internal jugular vein medially.

Clinical significance

A small percentage of the population will suffer from an elongation of the styloid process and stylohyoid ligament

calcification Calcification is the accumulation of calcium salts in a body tissue. It normally occurs in the formation of bone, but calcium can be deposited abnormally in soft tissue,Miller, J. D. Cardiovascular calcification: Orbicular origins. ''Nature M ...

. This condition is also known as

Eagle syndrome Eagle syndrome (also termed stylohyoid syndrome, styloid syndrome, styloid-stylohyoid syndrome, or styloid–carotid artery syndrome) is a rare condition commonly characterized but not limited to sudden, sharp nerve-like pain in the jaw bone and ...

. The tissues in the throat rub on the styloid process during the act of swallowing with resulting pain along the glossopharyngeal nerve. There is also pain upon turning the head or extending the tongue. Other symptoms may include voice alteration, cough, dizziness, migraines, occipital neuralgia, pain in teeth and jaw and sinusitis or bloodshot eyes.

Development

The styloid process arises from

endochondral ossification Endochondral ossification is one of the two essential processes during fetal development of the mammalian skeletal system by which bone tissue is produced. Unlike intramembranous ossification, the other process by which bone tissue is produced ...

of the

cartilage Cartilage is a resilient and smooth type of connective tissue. In tetrapods, it covers and protects the ends of long bones at the joints as articular cartilage, and is a structural component of many body parts including the rib cage, the neck ...

from the second

pharyngeal arch The pharyngeal arches, also known as visceral arches'','' are structures seen in the embryonic development of vertebrates that are recognisable precursors for many structures. In fish, the arches are known as the branchial arches, or gill arche ...

Additional images

File:Styloid process of temporal bone - animation02.gif, Animation. Temporal styloid process shown in red. File:Styloid process of left temporal bone - animation.gif, Left temporal bone. File:Styloid process of left temporal bone - inferior view.png, Inferior surface of left temporal bone. Styloid process shown in red. File:Gray907.png, External and middle ear, opened from the front. Right side. (Label for styloid process is bottom center.) File:Gray137.png, Left

. Outer surface. (Styloid process visible at center bottom.) File:Gray310.png, Articulation of the mandible. Medial aspect. File:Gray1019.png, Extrinsic muscles of the tongue. Left side. File:Gray1028.png, Dissection of the muscles of the palate from behind. File:Slide2JAN.JPG, Styloid process.Base of skull.

References

External links

* * * Bones of the head and neck {{musculoskeletal-stub