It's suspended just beneath the mandible. You can feel your own hyoid bone here, and you can move it from side to side. Together with its attached muscles, the hyoid bone has two important functions: it holds up the tongue, which sits above it, and it holds up the larynx, which hangs below it.
It also transmits the force of muscles that help to open the jaw. This broad central part is the body. The backward facing lower surface of the body is deeply concave. On each side this long slender part of the hyoid bone is the greater horn or greater cornu. The greater horn 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. When the structures above and below it are at rest, the hyoid bone lies slightly below the lower border of the mandible.
In the frontal plane the body of the hyoid is about in line with the last molar tooth. The hyoid bone is located above the Adam's apple in men and below the tonsils and the epiglottis. While not technically a part of the larynx, at the top, the two structures are very close.
The hyoid provides an attachment site for muscles that control movements of the larynx. Since the hyoid functions as an attachment point for the larynx, it's involved in any function that the larynx is involved in.
The larynx is the area above your windpipe, aka trachea, that helps protect you from choking on foreign objects. Perhaps the most well-known example of this is when food "goes down the wrong pipe. The larynx does its primary job of protecting you from choking by quickly closing off the opening to the trachea when a foreign object tries to enter. Remember, the windpipe is built for air, not things.
Another thing the larynx does is produce sound; singers and speakers often refer to the larynx as the voice box. The larynx is also responsible for coughing, which is part of the choking protection mechanism function mentioned above. The larynx has a few other purposes, as well, including playing a role in ventilation and functioning as a sensory organ. A second function of the hyoid bone is to provide a foundation or base from which the tongue can move. Finally, the hyoid bone is involved in respiration it plays a role in keeping the airway open.
That important not only for breathing but for sleep and sleeping disorders, such as sleep apnea. The hyoid bone is small, and it functions as an attachment point for many muscles involved in swallowing, jaw movements, and respiration. Swallowing function may be impaired due to problems such as stroke, neck injuries, or jaw and neck cancers. If that occurs, working with a specialist like a speech pathologist may be useful.
Your speech therapist may perform specific exercises to help you swallow better, and these may involve getting familiar with your hyoid bone. Your therapist may also teach you how to mobilize your hyoid bone and to stretch or strengthen the muscles that surround it. Sign up for our Health Tip of the Day newsletter, and receive daily tips that will help you live your healthiest life.
Anatomy, head and neck, hyoid bone. Updated April 5, Zhang Z. Mechanics of human voice production and control. J Acoust Soc Am. Pauloski BR. Rehabilitation of dysphagia following head and neck cancer.
Messina G. The tongue, mandible, hyoid system. Eur J Transl Myol. Do this on yourself or someone: Put your finger on tip of your chin mentalis. Slide finger down the midline and the first hard structure you hit is the top of the thyroid cartilage. Surprisingly, one does not feel the hyoid bone in the midline, although sometimes its lateral end is misidentified as a hard lymph node.
Run your finger down the prow or the free edge of the thyroid cartilage Adam's apple. The next thing you hit is the cricoid cartilage and see if you can get your fingernail in between the thyroid and cricoid cartilage—that is the cricothyroid membrane which is where trans-tracheal aspirations for pneumonia can be performed.
Ask patient to flex neck slightly forward and relax. Go through the landmarks as above. Use finger pads, not tips, to palpate. Identify the isthmus. Gently draw fingers laterally cm. Gently palpate lateral lobes. NOW ask patient to swallow give them a glass of water if possible. Assess for asymmetrical elevation of lobes suggests nodularity. When you are done with above, move to next phase, which is displacing the soft tissues on one side to the midline while assessing for size with the other hand.
Repeat in opposite direction. Consult the Expert. Neil Gesundheit Dr. Clinical Pearl Most North American patients have small thyroids gm in weight and thus closer to the midline. For such patients, if palpating from behind, to place index and middle fingers only cm apart off the midline.
If fingers are too lateral, they might not detect the contours of the average North American thyroid.
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