Definition
noun
A group of bones comprised of hyoid body and two pairs of cornua (i.e. greater cornua and lesser cornua), and lies just below the tongue, above the thyroid cartilage
Supplement
In most mammals, including humans, the hyoid apparatus is shaped like a horseshoe. However, in humans, some of the bones of the hyoid apparatus are fused into a single bone called os hyoideum. In other animals such as frogs, the hyoid apparatus has a hyoid body that is chiefly comprised of hyaline cartilage and two pairs of processes (i.e. alary process and the posteriolateral process).
Word origin: from the Greek word hyoeides meaning “shaped like the letter upsilon” (υ)
Also called:
- Apparatus hyoideus
Related term(s):
- Hyoid
- Hyoid arch
