PTERYGOID MUSCLES
PTERYGOID MUSCLES
SUPERIOR PTERYGOID MUSCLE
Short and thick
Has two separate heads Superior
head Inferior head
Lies superiorly to Inferior Pterygoid Muscle
SUPERIOR HEAD
Smaller of the two heads
ORIGIN: Infratemporal crest of the greater wing of the sphenoid bone
INSERTION: Articular capsule and articular disc of the temporomandibular joint
INFERIOR HEAD
ORIGIN: Lateral surface of pterygoid plate
INSERTION: Articular disc and pterygoid fovea
INFERIOR HEAD (ORIGIN)
ACTION
Depress the mandible Protrude mandible Side to side movement of mandible
INNERVATION
Pterygoid branch of the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve