The mylohyoid muscle is a part of a group of neck muscles from the suprahyoid group. It is one of the four extrinsic (remote) muscles, which control the tongue.
The right and left side of the mylohyoid muscle, similar to a sling, support the tongue. Each is attached to the mylohyoid line on the inner surface of the mandible (lower jawbone) and the hyoid bone, which is located in the middle of the neck, under the chin. The two mylohyoid muscles also connect from their respective sides to the mylohyoid raphe, a seam-like area located in the middle of the underside of the lower jaw.
The mylohyoid muscle works to perform three separate functions. It depresses the mandible, raises the floor of the mouth during the beginning of deglutition (swallowing), and it elevates the hyoid bone. This last process controls the part of the tongue that makes velar consonants — such as the “g” in “good” and the “k” in “king” — and vowels.
This muscle is supplied by the mylohyoid nerve, a branch of the mandibular nerve.