Stylohyoid muscle greater cornu, and just superior the omohyoid muscle. It thus belongs to the group of suprahyoid muscles. When contracted, it elevates the hyoid, this action is primarily brought about during swallowing. It is perforated, near its insertion, by the intermediate tendon of the digastric muscle. A branch from the extracranial path of the facial nerve (CN VII) innervates the Stylohyoid muscle. It may be absent or doubled, lie beneath the carotid artery, or be inserted into the omohyoid, or mylohyoid muscles. The stylohyoid muscle elevates and retracts hyoid bone.Initiates a swallowing action by pulling the hyoid bone in a posterior
Anatomical terms of muscle need antagonistic pairs located in opposite sides of a joint or bone, including abductor-adductor pairs and flexor-extensor pairs. These consist of an extensor muscle, which "opens" the joint (by increasing the angle between the two bones) and a flexor muscle, which does the opposite by decreasing the angle between two bones. However muscles don't always work this way - sometimes agonists and antagonists contract at the same time to produce force, as per Lombard's paradox. Also, sometimes during a joint action controlled by an agonist muscle (see above definition of agonist), the antagonist will be slightly activated, naturally. This occurs