Temporal muscle Temporal muscle The temporal muscle, also known as the temporalis, is one of the muscles of mastication. It is a broad, fan-shaped muscle on each side of the head that fills the temporal fossa, superior to the zygomatic arch so it covers much of the temporal bone. In humans, it arises from the temporal fossa and the deep part of temporal fascia. It passes medial to the zygomatic arch and forms a tendon which inserts onto the coronoid process of the mandible, with its insertion extending into the retromolar fossa posterior to the most distal mandibular molar. In other mammals,
Anatomical terms of muscle set of fibers that perform the same function, and are usually supplied by different nerves for different set of fibers. For example, the tongue itself is a composite muscle made up of various components like longitudinal, transverse, horizontal muscles with different parts innervated having different nerve supply. The "insertion" and "origin" of a muscle are the two places where it is anchored, one at each end. The tissue of the attachment is called an "enthesis". The "origin" of a muscle is the bone, typically proximal, which has greater mass and is more stable during a contraction than a muscle's insertion.