0 a U-shaped bone in the middle of the neck between the chin and the thyroid that supports the tongue and tongue muscles --
The hyoid bone is not part of the larynx, though the larynx is suspended from the hyoid.
In humans, the single hyoid bone is an equivalent of the hyoid apparatus.
When retracted, the tongue is held in the oropharynx by the hyoid muscles and the secondary palate, preventing it from blocking respiration.
However, other researchers have claimed that the morphology of the hyoid is not indicative of the larynx's position.
Alternatively, if other muscles are used to keep the position of the hyoid fixed, then the mylohoid depresses the mandible.
One of the hints they use is the hyoid bone.
It projects obliquely upwards behind the tongue and the hyoid bone, pointing dorsally.
The two most anterior pharyngeal arches are thought to have become the jaw itself and the hyoid arch, respectively.
