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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.
The pterygoid branches of the maxillary artery, irregular in their number and origin, supply the lateral pterygoid muscle and medial pterygoid muscle. Branches of the maxillary artery . References
The maxillary artery, the larger of the two terminal branches of the external carotid artery, arises behind the neck of the mandible, and is at first imbedded in the substance of the parotid gland; it passes forward between the ramus of the mandible and the sphenomandibular ligament, and then runs, either superficial or deep to the lateral pterygoid muscle, to the pterygopalatine fossa.
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).
It contains superficial muscles, including the lower part of the temporalis muscle, the lateral pterygoid muscle, and the medial pterygoid muscle. It also contains important blood vessels such as the middle meningeal artery, the pterygoid plexus, and the retromandibular vein, and nerves such as the mandibular nerve (CN V 3) and its branches.
Diagram showing left medial and lateral pterygoid muscles. Part of the zygomatic arch and the ramus of the mandible have been cut away. The pterygomandibular space lies between the lateral surface of medial pterygoid and the medial surface of the mandibular ramus.
Anteromedial relations: The gland is situated posterolaterally to the mandibular ramus, masseter, and medial pterygoid muscles. A part of the gland may extend between the ramus and medial pterygoid, as the pterygoid process. Branches of the facial nerve and parotid duct emerge through this surface.
The mandible is moved primarily by the four muscles of mastication: the masseter, medial pterygoid, lateral pterygoid and the temporalis. These four muscles, all innervated by V 3, or the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve, work in different groups to move the mandible in different directions. Contraction of the lateral pterygoid acts ...