MEDIVEERSETHE PRACTICAL HUB
Locate masseter on this anatomical reference. Read the original plate labels to confirm the view and adjacent structures.
Zoom in, then drag to inspect. Keyboard: + / − to zoom, arrows to pan, 0 to reset. Tap the numbered markers to explore parts.
Muscles of mastication: labelled teaching diagram. Original labels and colours retained.
Image: OpenStax College / university open textbook · Source / original · CC BY 4.0Numbered markers and focused views are Mediveerse learning overlays; the original reference is linked above.
Muscles of mastication
Understand what you see.
Move the mandible during mastication.
Zoom into the original labels. Practise pointing out each structure, then explain it aloud. Diagrams are teaching references; specimen appearance and slide staining vary.
How to recognise it.
- Masseter lies over the lateral mandibular ramus
- Temporalis fans across the temporal fossa
- Pterygoid muscles lie deep to the ramus
Point them out.
Tap a number to open its reference, zoom in and locate the structure. Numbers stay the same across views. This key follows landmarks visible in the reference images.
Think first. Then reveal.
Say your answer aloud before opening the suggested response.
Examiner-style prompts: identify the structure, explain its relations, then answer the applied follow-up. These are revision questions, not authenticated past papers.
01How would you identify muscles of mastication?+
Masseter lies over the lateral mandibular ramus. Temporalis fans across the temporal fossa. Pterygoid muscles lie deep to the ramus.
02What is their motor nerve supply?+
Branches of the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve (V3). Buccinator helps keep food between the teeth but is a muscle of facial expression supplied by VII.
03Which muscle inserts on the coronoid process?+
Temporalis.
04Which chewing muscle has a major role in protrusion and helps open the mouth?+
Lateral pterygoid; mandibular opening also involves suprahyoid muscles when the hyoid is stabilised.
05How do you distinguish buccal nerve from buccal branches of facial nerve?+
Buccal nerve of V3 is sensory; buccal branches of VII supply motor fibres to facial-expression muscles including buccinator.
Read the references.
Credited anatomical plates, microscopy and university teaching references. Individual image credits appear below the viewer. Historical plates can use older terminology; use the lesson text for current names.