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Research on four muscles of mastication Ludmilla Direny Keiser University Mr. Popp Research: Mastication is the process by which food is crushed and mixed with saliva to allow us to digest our food. There are four main muscles that help with mastication. Those muscles are the temporalis, medial pterygoid, lateral pterygoid, and masseter. Those four muscles are attached to the rami and join the angle of the mandible. The temporalis muscles originate from the temporal fossa to the inferior temporal line of the lateral skull. Its functions are to retract and elevate the mandible when masticating food. The medial pterygoid is a thick rectangular muscle that has a superficial head and a deep head. Its superficial head has its origin in the maxillary tuberosity of the inferior maxilla. The deep head of the medial pterygoid is larger than the superficial head. The medial pterygoid function is to assist in the elevation and protrusion of the mandible. It also assists the lateral pterygoid in the side-to-side motion to help grind the teeth. The lateral pterygoid muscle is the primary muscle of the inferior temporal fossa. The lateral pterygoid has two parts: an upper head and a lower head. The origin of the upper head of the lateral pterygoid muscle is the inferior temporal surface of the greater wing of the sphenoid bone. The lateral pterygoid is the only mastication muscle that functions in the depression of the mandible.
Masseter is also a rectangular muscle with three layers: the superficial, the deep, and the intermediate. It originates from the inferior zygomatic arch to the anterior of the zygomatic arch. The function of the masseter muscle is to elevate the mandible and approximate the teeth additionally, the intermediate and deep muscle fibers of the masseter function to retract the mandible.
Critical thinking on Research on four muscles of mastication;
Those are the main muscle involved in the mastication process, but they are also some other muscles involved called the accessory muscles of mastication. Those muscles are the strap muscles of the neck composed of the suprahyoid, the infrahyoid, and also the buccinator.
References :
Mazza D, Marini M, Impara L, Cassetta M, Scarpato P, Barchetti F, Di Paolo C. Anatomic examination of the upper head of the lateral pterygoid muscle using magnetic resonance imaging and clinical data. J Craniofac Surg. 2009 Sep;20(5):1508-11.
Basit H, Tariq MA, Siccardi MA. Anatomy, Head and Neck, Mastication Muscles