Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Mar;52(1):1-11.
doi: 10.5115/acb.2019.52.1.1. Epub 2019 Mar 29.

Anatomy and variations of digastric muscle

Sung Deuk Kim  1 , Marios Loukas  1
Affiliations
Review

Anatomy and variations of digastric muscle

Sung Deuk Kim et al. Anat Cell Biol. 2019 Mar.

Abstract

The digastric muscle consists of the anterior belly and the posterior belly connecting the mandible, hyoid bone and temporal bone. Its unique morphology, structure and variations have drawn genuine interests in this muscle from anatomists, scientists and physicians for a long time, and the variations of the digastric muscle have been documented since the 18th century. As the usage of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in the neck has become ever increasing, recognizing the variations of the digastric muscle can be a great value since it helps physicians to make better treatment plans and avoid unnecessary invasive procedures in the neck. Although the variations of the digastric muscle do not necessarily cause clinical symptoms, they still have important clinical applications. This article discusses the anatomy, embryology, descriptions of the morphological variations and clinical significance of the digastric muscle.

Keywords: Anterior belly; Hyoid bone; Mylohyoid muscle; Posterior belly; Stylohyoid muscle; Variation.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Sowman PF, Flavel SC, McShane CL, Sakuma S, Miles TS, Nordstrom MA. Asymmetric activation of motor cortex controlling human anterior digastric muscles during speech and target-directed jaw movements. J Neurophysiol. 2009;102:159–166. - PubMed
    1. Larsson SG, Lufkin RB. Anomalies of digastric muscles: CT and MR demonstration. J Comput Assist Tomogr. 1987;11:422–425. - PubMed
    1. Faltaous AA, Yetman RJ. The submental artery flap: an anatomic study. Plast Reconstr Surg. 1996;97:56–60. - PubMed
    1. Tan ST. Anterior belly of digastric muscle transfer: a useful technique in head and neck surgery. Head Neck. 2002;24:947–954. - PubMed
    1. Yamada S. Beobachtungen über den Venter anterior des Musculus digastricus mandibulae bei japanischen Erwachsenen und Foeten. Acta Anat Nippon. 1935;8:303–347.