Quick Facts
Origin: Inferior mental spine of mandible.
Insertion: Body of hyoid bone.
Action: Depresses mandible; elevates hyoid bone.
Innervation: First cervical nerve (C1), via hypoglossal nerve (CN XII).
Arterial Supply: Suprahyoid branch of lingual artery.
Origin
The geniohyoid muscle arises from the inferior mental (genial) spines of the mandible.
Insertion
The geniohyoid muscle extends posteriorly and inferiorly to the anterior surface of the body of the hyoid bone.
Key Features & Anatomical Relations
The geniohyoid muscle sits superior to the medial portion of the mylohyoid muscle. Occasionally, it fuses with its contralateral muscle or with genioglossus muscle.
Actions
The geniohyoid muscle is involved in multiple actions:
- elevates the hyoid bone and pulls it anteriorly;
- depresses the mandible at the temporomandibular joint (Standring, 2016).
References
Standring, S. (2016) Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice. Gray's Anatomy Series 41st edn.: Elsevier Limited.
