What is the function of the pterygoid?
The primary function of the lateral pterygoid muscle is to pull the head of the condyle out of the mandibular fossa along the articular eminence to protrude the mandible.
What does the lateral pterygoid muscle do?
The Lateral pterygoid muscle is active during mastication and during mandibular movements such as protrusion (forward movement of the mandible), abduction (depression of the mandible), mediotrusion (movement of the mandibular condyle towards the midline), and particularly during speaking, singing, and clenching.
What happens if the lateral pterygoid muscle is damaged?
Of the four muscles involved in mastication, the lateral pterygoid is the only muscle that also depresses, or opens, the jaw. If there is serious injury to one of the lateral pterygoid muscles which prevents it from contracting, the other lateral pterygoid muscle will still maintain contracture function.
What is the pterygoid canal?
The pterygoid canal, also known as the Vidian canal, is a foramen in the base of skull, located in the pterygoid process of the sphenoid bone, superior to the pterygoid plates, and inferomedial to the foramen rotundum.
What kind of joint is temporomandibular?
The temporomandibular joint (TMJ), also known as the mandibular joint, is an ellipsoid variety of the right and left synovial joints forming a bicondylar articulation.
What are the functions of the two head of the lateral pterygoid muscle?
Lateral pterygoid is a two-headed, fan-shaped muscle located in the infratemporal fossa of the skull. It is one of the four masticatory muscles, along with the medial pterygoid, temporalis and masseter muscles. All these muscles act upon the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) to enable chewing (mastication) and biting.
Where is the masseter muscle located?
Anatomy of the Masseter Muscle The masseter is a rectangular-shaped muscle in your face and jaw and is one of the primary muscles of mastication, or chewing. It consists of three distinct layers and works with nearby muscles to move your temporomandibular joint and jaw bone.
What muscle opens the jaw?
lateral pterygoid
The masseter muscle is one of four muscles of mastication and has the primary role of closing the jaw in conjunction with two other jaw closing muscles, the temporalis and medial pterygoid muscles. The fourth masticatory muscle, the lateral pterygoid, causes jaw protrusion and jaw opening when activated.
How do you massage the lateral pterygoid muscle?
Place index finger, on muscle at inside of bottom teeth in mouth. Place opposite thumb under jaw line below ear. Apply pressure to muscle as if to touch finger and thumb. Move along gum line until reach incisors in front.
How do you strengthen mastication?
Keeping your teeth together run the tip of your tongue backwards onto the soft palate as far as it will go. Slowly open your mouth until you feel your tongue being pulled away from it, do not try to open it further. Keep in this position for 5 seconds. Still don’t open your mouth further.
Where does the deep head of the pterygoid come from?
The larger deep head originates from the medial surface of the lateral pterygoid plate and the pyramidal process of sphenoid bone . From their origin, the muscle fibers run posteroinferiorly and laterally, surrounding the lower fibers of the lateral pterygoid muscle.
What do you need to know about the lateral pterygoid?
Key facts about the lateral pterygoid muscle Origin Superior head: Infratemporal crest of gr Insertion Superior head: Joint capsule of temporom Action Bilateral contraction – Protrudes and de Innervation Lateral pterygoid nerve (of mandibular n Blood supply Pterygoid branches of maxillary artery,
Where does the medial pterygoid muscle come from?
The mandibular branch of the fifth cranial nerve, the trigeminal nerve, innervates the medial pterygoid muscle. It consists of two heads. The bulk of the muscle arises as a deep head from just above the medial surface of the lateral pterygoid plate.
Is the sphenoid attachment of the pterygoid always fixed?
The sphenoid attachment of the muscle is always fixed, meaning that the direction of pull is oriented towards it. Bilateral contraction of the left and right lateral pterygoid muscles results in translation and rotation within both temporomandibular joints.