# The previously undescribed variant of the thyrohyoid muscle and its potential impact on surgical procedures

## TL;DR

A new two-headed variant of the thyrohyoid muscle was discovered, which could affect surgical procedures in the neck area.

## Contribution

The discovery of a previously undescribed two-headed variant of the thyrohyoid muscle, potentially named the cricothyrohyoid muscle.

## Key findings

- A two-headed thyrohyoid muscle variant was found during anatomical dissection.
- One head originated from the cricoid cartilage and the other from the thyroid cartilage.
- This variant may impact surgical procedures and graft options in the prelaryngeal area.

## Abstract

The thyrohyoid muscle belongs to the infrahyoid group located in the carotid triangle. It normally originates from thyroid cartilage and inserts into hyoid bone. Quite often, it is continuous with the sternohyoid muscle. Furthermore, there are variants that have their origin in the cricoid cartilage only, however, this occurs very rarely. During anatomical dissection, a two-headed variant of this muscle was found. One head had its origin in the cricoid cartilage and the other in the thyroid cartilage. This variant of thyrohyoid had not been previously described in the available literature. Therefore, we believe that it may be referred to as the cricothyrohyoid muscle. As the thyrohyoideus is often used as a landmark during surgical procedures in the prelaryngeal area and as a muscle graft, a thorough knowledge of its anatomy and variation is extremely important. We speculate that the two-headed version of this muscle may be problematic during surgical procedures in this region, however, it may also provide more options as a muscular graft.