Hyoid apparatus

The hyoid apparatus is the collective term used in veterinary anatomy for the bones which suspend the tongue and larynx.^[1] It consists of pairs of stylohyoid, thyrohyoid, epihyoid and ceratohyoid bones, and a single basihyoid bone.^[2] The hyoid apparatus resembles the shape of a trapeze,^[3] or a bent letter "H".^[4] The basihyoid bone lies within the muscle at the base of the tongue.^[1]

The hyoid apparatus of a horse. A–D: hyoid apparatus (D: basihyoid), E: epiglottis, F: glottis, G–J: cartilages of the trachea.

Hyoid apparatus of a leopard gecko, Euplepharis maculatus, with attached tracheal rings (ventral view, anterior towards the right)

In humans, the single hyoid bone is an equivalent of the hyoid apparatus.^[5]