Muscle · Neck

Thyrohyoid

Musculus thyrohyoideus

A short quadrilateral muscle bridging the small gap between the thyroid cartilage and the hyoid bone — in effect the upper continuation of the sternothyroid, carrying the same line of pull one segment further. It works in both directions depending on which end is held: with the hyoid fixed it lifts the larynx up towards it, and with the larynx fixed it pulls the hyoid down. The first of those matters most, because raising the larynx under the base of the tongue is what tucks the airway away beneath the epiglottis while a swallow passes. Like the geniohyoid it is supplied by first cervical fibres that travel to it inside the hypoglossal nerve.