What do the pterygoid muscles do?
What do the pterygoid muscles do?
The medial pterygoid muscle attaches to the angle of the mandible and to the lateral pterygoid plate to form a sling with the masseter muscle that suspends the mandible (Figure 6-19). The primary action is to elevate the mandible and laterally deviate it to the opposite side.
How do you release lateral pterygoid?
Gently squeeze the muscle between the index finger and the thumb. Start with a gentle pressure, and gradually increase the muscle squeeze as tolerated. Teach the patient to self-squeeze the lateral pterygoid muscle for 1 minute several times per day. Relief of the headache, jaw or facial pain is sometimes immediate.
What is the action of the medial pterygoid?
Medial Pterygoid. Elevates the mandible and assits in closing the jaw. Aassits the lateral pterygoids in moving the jaw side-to-side.
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 happens when all four pterygoid muscles act together?
The primary function of the pterygoid muscles is to produce movements of the mandible at the temporomandibular joint….Pterygoid muscles.
| Definition and function | Muscles of mastication that produce movements of the jaw. |
|---|---|
| Blood supply | Pterygoid branches of the maxillary artery |
How do you test a pterygoid muscle?
Examination for trigger points in the medial pterygoid is performed both inside and outside the mouth with the patient in a supine position. To palpate from outside the mouth, the head is tilted slightly to access the muscle.
How do you test the lateral pterygoid muscle?
Attempted palpation of what has been thought to be this structure is commonly done by placing the forefinger, or the little finger, over the buccal area of the maxillary third molar region and exerting pressure in a posterior, superior, and medial direction behind the maxillary tuberosity (Figure 2).
Where is the pterygoid process?
sphenoid bone
Each pterygoid process projects inferiorly from the junction of the body and greater wing of the sphenoid bone and bifurcates into a medial pterygoid plate and a lateral pterygoid plate. At the inferior tip of the medial pterygoid plate is the small hook-shaped process, the pterygoid hamulus.
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.
What are the two heads of the lateral pterygoid muscle?
Lateral pterygoid is located deep to the temporalis and masseter muscles, spanning between the sphenoid bone and temporomandibular joint. Its muscle belly is separated by a small horizontal fissure into two heads; superior (upper) and inferior (lower).
What is the important action of the lateral pterygoid muscle?
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.