Muscle · Neck

Omohyoid

Musculus omohyoideus

The strap muscle that does not run straight. It begins on the upper edge of the shoulder blade, crosses the base of the neck diagonally, changes direction at a short intermediate tendon, then turns upwards to reach the hyoid bone — two bellies end to end. The intermediate tendon is tied down to the clavicle by a sleeve of deep fascia, and that tether is what gives the muscle its angle: without it the muscle would simply pull the hyoid towards the shoulder. Its inferior belly cuts across the posterior triangle of the neck and is used as a boundary line when describing that area. As well as pulling the hyoid down and back, its tension pulls on the fascial sheath around the great veins of the neck.