Anatomy, Head and Neck, Stylopharyngeus Muscles

Excerpt

The stylopharyngeus muscle is a long, slender and tapered longitudinal pharyngeal muscle that runs between the styloid process of the temporal bone and the pharynx and functions during the pharyngeal phase of swallowing. The stylopharyngeus muscle, along with two other styloid muscles, i.e., the styloglossus muscle and the stylohyoid muscle, form the ‘bunch of Riolanus.’ It is the most vertical and medial among all the three styloid muscles.