Quick Facts
Origin: Greater horn of hyoid bone.
Insertion: Blends with intrinsic muscles of tongue.
Action: Depresses tongue.
Innervation: Hypoglossal nerve (CN XII).
Arterial Supply: Sublingual and submental arteries.
Related parts of the anatomy
Origin
The hyoglossus muscle originates along the length of the greater horn of the hyoid bone.
Insertion
The hyoglossus muscle extends upward and inserts into the lateral aspect of the tongue.
Key Features & Anatomical Relations
The superficial (external) surface of the hyoglossus muscle is related to several muscles including the digastric tendon, stylohyoid, styloglossus, and mylohyoid. Additionally, the lingual nerve, the hyoglossus nerve, and the sublingual gland lie external to this muscle.
The deep (internal) surface of the hyoglossus muscle is related to several muscles including the genioglossus and the middle pharyngeal constrictor. Posteroinferiorly, it is separated from the middle pharyngeal constrictor by the lingual artery.
Actions
The hyoglossus muscle depresses the tongue (Standring, 2016).
References
Standring, S. (2016) Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice. Gray's Anatomy Series 41st edn.: Elsevier Limited.
Learn more about this topic from other Elsevier products
Hyoglossus
The hyoglossus is a flat wide muscle that lies in the lateral portion of the root of the tongue.
