medical term for chewing food

struble · Silver Member Joined: 11 May 2000 Posts: 283

I know what chewing means, and I know we all know it. However, I realized I do not know medical term for chewing food. I do not know which muscles are involved or how this process goes. That is why I would like to hear something, what you could tell me about chewing. I would like to hear some medical terms to understand better this important function of our body.

watland · Newbie Joined: 04 May 2005 Posts: 19

First important chewing muscle is the masseter, and this is medical term for one of the most important chewing musle. Its broad origin and insertion allow it to apply chewing force over a broad area. When one masseter is functioning, its fibers shorten and help to shift the mandible laterally to chew. The masseter's form dictates its most efficient function, unilateral chewing, so when one masseter is contracting, the orientation of its fibers help to position the mandible laterally. As the masseter elevates the mandible, it seats the condyle superiorly and anteriorly. In humans, the masseter is the second most efficient masticatory muscle, with a ratio of neurons to muscle fibers. All of the muscles of mastication are innervated by the third branch of the nrigeminal nerve. The temporalis as a chewing muscle resides within the temporal fossa, which is deepest at the anterior, and shallowest at the posterior. Therefore, the anterior temporalis is thickest and strongest and provides the force for the requirement of elevation against resistance in chewing action. Furthermore, there are two muscles also important in c hewing, and those are medial and lateral pterygoid, group of main chewing muscles.

medical term for chewing food

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