Masseter muscle is partly concealed, anteriorly, by the superficial portion. Posteriorly, it is covered by the parotid gland. Along with the other three muscles of mastication (temporalis, medial pterygoid, and lateral pterygoid), the masseter is innervated by the anterior division of the mandibular division (V3) of the trigeminal nerve. The innervation pathway is: gyrus precentralis > genu capsula interna > nucleus motorius nervi trigemini > nervus trigeminus > nervus mandibularis > musculus masseter. The action of the muscle during bilateral contraction of the entire muscle is to elevate the mandible, raising the lower jaw. Elevation of the mandible occurs during the closing
Masseter muscle Masseter muscle In human anatomy, the masseter is one of the muscles of mastication. Found only in mammals, it is particularly powerful in herbivores to facilitate chewing of plant matter. The most obvious muscle of mastication is the masseter muscle, since it is the most superficial and one of the strongest. The masseter is a thick, somewhat quadrilateral muscle, consisting of two heads, superficial and deep. The fibers of the two heads are continuous at their insertion. The superficial head, the larger, arises by a thick, tendinous aponeurosis from the temporal process of zygomatic bone, and from the anterior two-thirds