Head and neck muscles (chewing, facial, and throat muscles)

Middle pharyngeal constrictor

Musculus constrictor pharyngis medius

Origin

Greater and lesser horns of the hyoid bone, and the stylohyoid ligament

Insertion

Median pharyngeal raphe at the back of the pharynx

Function

Constricts the middle pharynx during swallowing and propels the food bolus further caudally

Innervation

Pharyngeal plexus (CN IX and CN X)

Movement & chain

Works in peristaltic sequence after the superior and before the inferior constrictor, coordinated by the swallowing reflex.

Palpation

Not palpable through superficial neck structures; fans out from the horns of the hyoid bone.

Clinical

Part of the muscle group that can weaken with neurological swallowing disorders (e.g. after stroke), increasing aspiration risk.

Segmental innervation

CN IX/CN X, motor via the pharyngeal plexus.

In clinical practice

Drives the middle pharyngeal peristaltic wave; Effortful Swallow therapy for clearing pharyngeal residue in post-stroke dysphagia.

Region in the model

Head and neck muscles (chewing, facial, and throat muscles)