Buccinator muscle the cheek area, which aids in holding the cheek to the teeth during chewing. This action causes the muscle to keep food pushed back on the occlusal surface of the posterior teeth, as when a person chews. By keeping the food in the correct position when chewing, the buccinator assists the muscles of mastication. It aids whistling and smiling, and in neonates it is used to suckle. In the past the buccinator muscle was also written as bucinator muscle. A "bucinator" in classical Latin is a trumpeter, or more precisely, the person who blows the "bucina". The name "bucina" could
Orbicularis oris muscle of muscular fibers surrounding the orifice of the mouth, but having different direction. It consists partly of fibers derived from the other facial muscles which are inserted into the lips, and partly of fibers proper to the lips. Of the former, a considerable number are derived from the buccinator and form the deeper stratum of the orbicularis. Some of the buccinator fibers—namely, those near the middle of the muscle—decussate at the angle of the mouth, those arising from the maxilla passing to the lower lip, and those from the mandible to the upper lip. The uppermost and lowermost fibers of