Masseter
Musculus masseter
Elevates the mandible to close the jaws; the chief biting muscle together with the temporalis.
About the masseter of the dog
Masseter is a muscle of the head (head), one on each side of the body. Its name in the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria is Musculus masseter. You can turn it above, see it in place in the head of the dog, and open it inside the whole animal in Vetomica.
Where it runs from and to
A muscle is told apart from its neighbours by what it takes hold of at each end, which is also what decides what it does when it shortens.
- Origin
- Zygomatic arch, along its ventral edge and inner face.
- Insertion
- Lateral face of the mandibular ramus, filling the masseteric fossa and wrapping its ventral edge.
- Action
- Elevates the mandible to close the jaws; the chief biting muscle together with the temporalis.
- Nerve
- Masseteric nerve, from the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve (CN V).
Written for Vetomica in its own words from the standard reference anatomy of the dog; the books it was checked against are listed below.
What it works on
Bones it takes hold of
- Zygomatic bone
- Maxilla
- Mandible
Joints it moves
- Temporomandibular joint
Muscles and ligaments it works with
Terminology
- English
- Masseter
- Latin (NAV)
- Musculus masseter
- Status
- A valid term in the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria
References
Where to read this structure in full, and where the named parts above were read.
- NAV 2017Myologia
- Miller's Anatomy of the Dog, 5th ed.The Muscular System: muscles of the head
- Dyce, Sack & WensingThe head and ventral neck of the dog and cat
- Miller 2020 (book pass)ch. 6 The Muscular System, PDF p. 475
The masseter in other animals
The same structure in the other animals in the Library, to compare.
Questions about the masseter
- What is the Latin name of the masseter?
- In the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria, the masseter is called Musculus masseter.
- Where is the masseter of the dog?
- Masseter is a muscle of the head (head), one on each side of the body.
- Which bones does the masseter attach to?
- Masseter takes hold of Zygomatic bone, Maxilla and Mandible.
- Where does the masseter originate and insert?
- Origin: Zygomatic arch, along its ventral edge and inner face. Insertion: Lateral face of the mandibular ramus, filling the masseteric fossa and wrapping its ventral edge.
- What nerve supplies the masseter?
- Masseteric nerve, from the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve (CN V).
- What does the masseter do?
- Elevates the mandible to close the jaws; the chief biting muscle together with the temporalis.
See the masseter inside the whole dog.
Vetomica opens on this structure with every layer of the dog around it: peel back the skin and the muscles, cut a section through it, X-ray it, and practise naming it until you stop getting it wrong.
Free for 7 days, no card. After that the skeletons stay free.
