Which bone is a U-shaped bone at the base of the tongue that supports the tongue muscles?

Which bone is a U-shaped bone at the base of the tongue that supports the tongue muscles?

• A. Mandible
• B. Hyoid
• C. Maxilla
• D. Temporal

Answer: (B)

The bone you're looking for is the hyoid. It’s a U-shaped bone in the neck at the base of the tongue and serves as the anchor point for many tongue muscles, supporting their movements for swallowing and speech. Uniquely, the hyoid isn’t connected to any other bone; it’s suspended by ligaments and muscles, with a central body and greater and lesser horns that provide attachment points for those muscles. The other bones listed don’t fit this description: the mandible is the lower jaw that moves to chew, the maxilla forms the upper jaw, and the temporal bone is part of the side of the skull near the ear. None of them sit at the base of the tongue or anchor the tongue muscles the way the hyoid does.

The bone you're looking for is the hyoid. It’s a U-shaped bone in the neck at the base of the tongue and serves as the anchor point for many tongue muscles, supporting their movements for swallowing and speech. Uniquely, the hyoid isn’t connected to any other bone; it’s suspended by ligaments and muscles, with a central body and greater and lesser horns that provide attachment points for those muscles.

The other bones listed don’t fit this description: the mandible is the lower jaw that moves to chew, the maxilla forms the upper jaw, and the temporal bone is part of the side of the skull near the ear. None of them sit at the base of the tongue or anchor the tongue muscles the way the hyoid does.