Thyrohyoid muscle
The thyrohyoid muscle is a muscle of the neck that connects the
hyoid bone in the throat. It elevates the
larynx when contracted.
It is a small, quadrilateral shaped
muscle that emerges to look like a continuation of the
sternothyroid muscle. It takes its
origin from the
thyroid cartilage, and its
insertion lies in the thyrohyal portion of the
hyoid bone.
The thyrohyoid works to lower, or depress, the hyoid bone in the throat area, and it also assists in raising the thyroid cartilage. A unique feature of this
muscle is that it connects directly to the
larynx; other muscles in the group connect below it and thus contribute to downward movement of the
larynx. The thyrohyoid muscle connects to the
larynx and affects the tension allowed in the
vocal folds. In short, the thyrohyoid muscle affects the
pitch of the voice by controlling the thyroid cartilage, altering the length in addition to the tension in that area. The position of the
larynx in this fashion also affects syllable and vowel production in speech. Being a small muscle surrounded by many others, it has a very specific function in the physiology of the neck.