Muscles above the hyoid bone and skull.

@SmartDoctor1 ============= The hyoid bone (hyoid) is a small U-shaped (horseshoe-shaped) solitary bone, situated in the midline of the neck anteriorly at the base of the mandible and posteriorly at the fourth cervical vertebra. Its anatomical position is just superior to the thyroid cartilage. The suprahyoid muscles are four muscles located above the hyoid bone in the neck. They are the digastric, stylohyoid, geniohyoid, and mylohyoid muscles. They are all pharyngeal muscles, with the exception of the geniohyoid muscle. The Pharynx The pharynx (throat) is involved in both digestion and respiration. It receives food and air from the mouth, and air from the nasal cavities. When food enters the pharynx, involuntary muscle contractions close off the air passageways. A short tube of skeletal muscle lined with a mucous membrane, the pharynx runs from the posterior oral and nasal cavities to the opening of the esophagus and larynx. It has three subdivisions. The most su