Where Are The Four Muscles Of Mastication?

Mastication is the action of chewing on food using the teeth, making it easy to be ingested by the body. It is known to be the first and foremost step of digestion as food can’t be swallowed effectively without it being turned into something that is easily consumable. For the jaw to be able to churn the food repeatedly, it requires muscles to adduct and abduct as well as give it strength to bite on hard food such as tooth-crackers. Muscles of mastication are known to be the most crucial muscles in the head aside from the muscles that are required to show facial expressions. The four muscles of mastication include: • Masseter muscle
• Temporalis muscle
• Medial pterygoid muscle
• Lateral pterygoid muscle Each of which has a
It is divided into superficial masseter muscle and deep masseter muscle. The superficial part arises from the maxillary process of the zygomatic bone, although the deep part comes from the zygomatic arch of the temporal bone. Both muscles insert into the lateral surface of the ramus of the mandible. They act by elevating the mandible upwards making it possible to close the mouth. Moreover, they are supplied by the mesenteric
The upper head originates from the greater wing of the sphenoid and the lower end from the lateral surface of the lateral pterygoid plate. Despite the fact that both heads originate from two different places, they then converge into a tendon which attaches to the neck of the mandible. They could either conduct bilateral or unilateral actions. Bilateral actions include protracting the mandible, pushing the jaw forwards using the lateral pterygoids and producing side to side movement of the jaw using the unilateral action. They are inverted by the branch from the anterior division of the mandibular