Digastric muscle
Musculus digastricus
It assists in depressing the lower jaw and opening the mouth. If the mandible be fixed and both bellies contract, the hyoid bone and the base of the tongue are raised, as in the first phase of deglutition.
- System
- Muscle
- Region
- Head
- Sides
- Paired: left and right
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
- The jugular process of the occipital bone.
- Insertion
- The ventral border of the body of the mandible.
- Action
- It assists in depressing the lower jaw and opening the mouth. If the mandible be fixed and both bellies contract, the hyoid bone and the base of the tongue are raised, as in the first phase of deglutition.
Written for Vetomica in its own words from the standard reference anatomy of the horse; the books it was checked against are listed below.
Terminology
- English
- Digastric muscle
- Latin (NAV)
- Musculus digastricus
- Status
- A valid term in the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria