a: Midline sagittal view. b: Posterior view of the oral cavity and pharynx. In this view, the spinal column has been removed, so that the view is into the pharynx. The esophagus and pharynx have been opened to show the connections of the nasal cavity, oral cavity, larynx, and esophagus into the pharynx. The arrow (b, bottom left) represents the path that food takes through the piriform recesses, which lie on either side of the laryngeal opening. It is interesting to note that the hyoid bone that supports the root of the tongue is the only bone in the body that does not touch any other bone.
Excerpted from: Anatomy and development of oral cavity and pharynx. See also Hyoid bone