Hyoid Bone

According to Ackland (2018), the hyoid bone is a slender, U-shaped bone. The hyoid bone is unlike any other bone because it is not connected to any other bone. Instead, it is only suspended just beneath the mandible wherein one can feel the hyoid bone here, and can move it from side to side.

Along with its attached muscles, the hyoid bone has two important functions. First, it raises and holds up the structure above it which is the tongue and it holds up the larynx, which hangs below it. It also transmits the force of muscles that help to open the jaw.

The hyoid bone keeps up the tongue, which sits above it, and the larynx, which hangs below it, with the help of its associated muscles. It also transmits the force of the muscles that aid in jaw opening. Let's investigate the hyoid bone in more detail.

The body is the large center section. Its upper surface is convex and has facets for the attachment of several muscles, which we'll see momentarily. The lower surface of the body that faces backwards is significantly concave (Ackland, 2018).

On the lateral portions lie the long slender part of the hyoid bone which is known as the greater horn or greater cornu. This structure is attached to the body by a small synovial joint, which gives it a little mobility. This small projection is the lesser horn, or lesser cornu.

The greater horn, also known as the greater cornu, is a long, slender portion of the hyoid bone on each side. A minor synovial joint connects the larger horn to the body, giving it some motion. The lesser horn, also known as the lesser cornu, is a tiny projection.

The hyoid bone lies slightly below the mandible's lower border when the structures above and below it are at rest. The hyoid bone is just below the lower border of the jaw when the components above and below it are at rest. The hyoid's body is roughly aligned with the final molar teeth in the frontal plane.

Moreover, from its resting position, the hyoid bone can be moved upwards and downwards, and forwards and backwards, by the muscles that are attached to it.

The muscles that are linked to the hyoid bone can move it upwards and downwards, forwards and backwards, from its resting position (Ackland, 2018).