The hyoglossus is a thin and quadrilateral extrinsic muscle of the
tongue
The tongue is a Muscle, muscular organ (anatomy), organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for chewing and swallowing as part of the digestive system, digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper s ...
. It originates from the
hyoid bone
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 verte ...
; it inserts onto the side of the tongue. It is innervated by the
hypoglossal nerve (cranial nerve XII). It acts to depress and retract the tongue.
Structure
It forms a part of the floor of
submandibular triangle.
Origin
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
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 verte ...
. The fibers arising from the body of the hyoid bone overlap those from 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 ...
.
Insertion
Its fibres pass almost vertically upward to enter the side of the
tongue
The tongue is a Muscle, muscular organ (anatomy), organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for chewing and swallowing as part of the digestive system, digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper s ...
, inserting between the
styloglossus
The styloglossus muscle is a bilaterally paired muscle of the tongue. It originates at the styloid process of the temporal bone. It inserts onto the side of the tongue. It acts to elevate and retract the tongue. It is innervated by the hypogloss ...
and the
inferior longitudinal muscle of the tongue.
Relations
Structures that are medial/deep to the hyoglossus are the
glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX), the
stylohyoid ligament and the
lingual artery and
lingual vein.
The lingual vein passes medial to the hyoglossus. 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 sublingual gland (''glandula sublingualis'') is a seromucous polystomatic exocrine gland. Located underneath the oral diaphragm (''diaphragma oris''), the sublingual gland is the smallest and most diffuse of the three major salivary glands of ...
,
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 V) and from the facial nerve (CN VII). The fibres from the trigeminal nerve ...
,
vena comitans 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 b ...
. Note, posteriorly, the
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 V) and from the facial nerve (CN VII). The fibres from the trigeminal nerve ...
is superior to the submandibular duct and a portion of the submandibular
salivary gland
The salivary glands in many vertebrates including 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 min ...
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 Human mandible, mandible to the hyoid bone, forming the floor of the oral cavity of the human mouth, mouth. It is named after its two attachments near the mo ...
s.
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 tongue
The tongue is a Muscle, muscular organ (anatomy), organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for chewing and swallowing as part of the digestive system, digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper s ...
, showing intrinsic muscles.
File:Slide3ss.JPG, Hyoglossus muscle
References
External links
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Diagram
{{Authority control
Muscles of the head and neck
Tongue