The angulation and length of the floor of the mouth on which the tongue body "ride" are controlled in part by the location of the hyoid bone, which, together with the anterior and posterior suprahyoid muscles, determines the position of the tongue relative to the upper and lower jaws. The hyoid bone is a rod-like bone located in the neck that houses the tongue muscles that control its movement. It can be divided into two parts: the body and the skull. The body of the hyoid bone connects to the epiglottis at one end and to the thyroid cartilage of the larynx at the other. This bone plays an important role in swallowing by helping to open the esophagus after eating and drinking. In humans, the hyoid bone is the only bone in the body that moves during speech. It does so through the action of three different muscles: the hyoglossus, the stylohyoid, and the superior constrictor muscles. These muscles are attached to the hyoid bone but also to other bones such as the mandible, the laryngeal cartilages, and the cervical vertebrae. They act to pull the bone downward (hyoglossus), forward (stylohyoid), and inward (superior constrictor). Damage to these muscles can prevent the hyoid bone from moving properly, which could cause dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) or dyspnoea (breathing difficulty).