Digastric – anterior belly

Anatomy

Origin:
Digastric fossa on inside of mandible.

Insertion:
Intermediate tendon between the two bellies which itself attaches to the body of the hyoid bone.

Key Relations:
-Is one of the suprahyoid muscles lying in the anterior triangle of the neck.
-Forms inferoanterior boundary of submandibular triangle.
-Forms lateral boundary of submental triangle.
-Superior to the anterior belly of digastric is another suprahyoid muscle geniohyoid.

Functions

-Elevates hyoid bone.
-Depresses the mandible e.g. opens mouth and aids swallowing (deglutition)..

Supply

Nerve Supply:
Mylohyoid nerve from the mandibular division (V3)of the trigeminal nerve (CN 5).

Blood Supply:
Submental branch of facial artery.

Clinical

The digastric muscle is an important landmark and subdivides the anterior triangle of the neck into three smaller triangles.

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