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Anatomy of the Masseter Muscle

The masseter muscle is one of the muscles of mastication located in the human face. It has two heads, a superficial head and a deep head, with fibers from each head connecting at their insertion point. The superficial head originates from the zygomatic bone and upper mandible, and inserts into the lower mandible. The deep head originates from the zygomatic arch and inserts higher on the mandible. The masseter is innervated by the trigeminal nerve and functions to elevate the mandible during jaw closing. Enlargement of the masseter can occur due to teeth grinding and may cause facial asymmetry.

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188 views2 pages

Anatomy of the Masseter Muscle

The masseter muscle is one of the muscles of mastication located in the human face. It has two heads, a superficial head and a deep head, with fibers from each head connecting at their insertion point. The superficial head originates from the zygomatic bone and upper mandible, and inserts into the lower mandible. The deep head originates from the zygomatic arch and inserts higher on the mandible. The masseter is innervated by the trigeminal nerve and functions to elevate the mandible during jaw closing. Enlargement of the masseter can occur due to teeth grinding and may cause facial asymmetry.

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vincent22060
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Masseter muscle

In human anatomy, the masseter is one of the muscles of mastication. Found only in mammals,
it is particularly powerful in herbivores to facilitate chewing of plant matter.The most obvious
muscle of mastication is the masseter muscle, since it is the most superficial and one of the
strongest.
Structure
The masseter is a thick, somewhat quadrilateral muscle, consisting of two heads, superficial and
deep. The fibers of the two heads are continuous at their insertion.

Superficial head
The superficial head, the larger, arises by a thick, tendinous aponeurosis from the maxillary
process of the zygomatic bone, and from the anterior two-thirds of the inferior border of the
zygomatic arch. Its fibers pass inferior and posterior, to be inserted into the angle of the mandible
and inferior half of the lateral surface of the ramus of the mandible.

Deep head
The deep head is much smaller, and more muscular in texture. It arises from the posterior third of
the lower border and from the whole of the medial surface of the zygomatic arch. Its fibers pass
downward and forward, to be inserted into the upper half of the ramus as high as the coronoid
process of the mandible. The deep head of the muscle is partly concealed, anteriorly, by the
superficial portion. Posteriorly, it is covered by the parotid gland.

Innervation
Along with the other three muscles of mastication (temporalis, medial pterygoid, and lateral
pterygoid), the masseter is innervated by the anterior division of the mandibular division (V3) of
the trigeminal nerve. The innervation pathway is: gyrus precentralis > genu capsula interna >
nucleus motorius nervi trigemini > nervus trigeminus > nervus mandibularis > musculus
masseter.

Function
The action of the muscle during bilateral contraction of the entire muscle is to elevate the
mandible, raising the lower jaw. Elevation of the mandible occurs during the closing of the jaws.
The masseter parallels the medial pterygoid muscle, but it is stronger and superficial fibres can
cause protrusion.

Pathology
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 enlargement of the muscles. This
extraoral enlargement may be confused with parotid salivary gland disease, dental infections,
and maxillofacial neoplasms. However, no other signs are present except those involved in
changes in occlusion intraorally such as pain, and the enlargement corresponds with the outline
of the muscle. Most patients seek medical attention because of comments about facial
appearance, and this situation may be associated with further pathology of the
temporomandibular joint.

Daftar Pustaka:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masseter_muscle

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