Sternohyoid

Origin, Insertion, Action & Nerve

Attachments explained

The Sternohyoid is defined first by where it attaches. Its origin is the more fixed anchor, usually the proximal or more stable end that stays put during contraction, while its insertion is the more mobile point that is pulled toward the origin when the muscle shortens.

Action & function

When the Sternohyoid contracts, it produces the following movement: Depresses the hyoid bone after it has been elevated during swallowing.

As part of the Neck group of the Head & Neck, it works alongside neighbouring muscles to generate smooth, coordinated movement and to stabilise the structures it acts on.

Nerve supply & clinical relevance

The Sternohyoid receives its nerve supply from the Ansa cervicalis (C1–C3). This nerve carries fibres from spinal segment(s) C1, C3.

Because a muscle can only contract when its nerve is intact, injury to the Ansa cervicalis or to its spinal roots (C1, C3) can weaken or paralyse the Sternohyoid, impairing the movements it normally produces (depresses the hyoid bone after it has been elevated during swallowing). This is why knowing the innervation is central to localising nerve lesions in clinical practice.

How to study the Sternohyoid (the OIANS method)

OIANS stands for Origin, Insertion, Action and Nerve, the four facts that uniquely define every skeletal muscle. To learn the Sternohyoid, work through them in order: picture its origin, trace the muscle to its insertion, reason out the action that shortening between those two points must create, then add the nerve that drives it.

Most students remember the Sternohyoid fastest by linking its action back to its attachments rather than memorising each fact in isolation. Once the origin and insertion make sense, the action usually follows logically.

Sternohyoid quick facts

Region

Head & Neck

Group

Neck

Origin

Posterior surface of the manubrium sterni and medial end of the clavicle

Insertion

Inferior border of the body of the hyoid bone

Action

Depresses the hyoid bone after it has been elevated during swallowing

Nerve

Ansa cervicalis (C1–C3)

Spinal roots

C1, C3

Frequently asked questions

Related muscles