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The four classical muscles of mastication elevate the mandible (closing the jaw) and move it forward/backward and laterally, facilitating biting and chewing. Other muscles are responsible for opening the jaw, namely the geniohyoid , mylohyoid , and digastric muscles (the lateral pterygoid may play a role).
The digastric muscle (also digastricus) (named digastric as it has two 'bellies') is a bilaterally paired suprahyoid muscle located under the jaw.Its posterior belly is attached to the mastoid notch of temporal bone, and its anterior belly is attached to the digastric fossa of mandible; the two bellies are united by an intermediate tendon which is held in a loop that attaches to the hyoid bone.
The masseter muscle can become enlarged in patients who habitually clench or grind (with bruxism) their teeth and even in those who constantly chew gum. This masseteric hypertrophy is asymptomatic and soft; it is usually bilateral but can be unilateral. Even if the hypertrophy is bilateral, asymmetry of the face may still occur due to unequal ...
It arises from the outer surfaces of the alveolar processes of the maxilla and mandible, corresponding to the three pairs of molar teeth and in the mandible, it is attached upon the buccinator crest posterior to the third molar; [5] and behind, from the anterior border of the pterygomandibular raphe which separates it from the constrictor pharyngis superior.
The mylohyoid muscle elevates the hyoid bone and the tongue. This is particularly important during swallowing and speaking. Alternatively, if other muscles are used to keep the position of the hyoid bone fixed, then the mylohyoid muscle depresses the mandible. [1] It also functions as reinforcing the floor of mouth. [1]
This also supplies the tensor tympani muscle and the tensor veli palatini muscle. The medial pterygoid nerve is a main trunk from the mandibular nerve, before the division of the trigeminal nerve - this is unlike the lateral pterygoid muscle, and all other muscles of mastication which are supplied by the anterior division of the mandibular nerve.
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In anatomy, the temporalis muscle, also known as the temporal muscle, is one of the muscles of mastication (chewing). It is a broad, fan-shaped convergent muscle on each side of the head that fills the temporal fossa , superior to the zygomatic arch so it covers much of the temporal bone . [ 1 ]