Muscle fibre bundles comprising the four major muscles of mastication in the human being were studied in cadavers. Markers were placed along each muscle fibre bundle by means of serial dissections. The 3D coordinates of each marker were tabulated and imported to Cinema 4D, a software animation program. Origins and insertions of each fibre bundle were also digitized and imported, as were the coordinates of the surface of the skull, the mandible and temporomandibular joint. It was then possible to visualize the movement of all relevant fibre bundles during the passive motions of the mandible. An animated film depicts the positions of all relevant muscle fibres during passive movement of the mandible. The properties of the masseter muscle were documented as a prototype for the eventual study of all the muscles of mastication. One can now proceed to study the inverse problem, namely the forces within each fibre bundle that actively generate mandibular motion. It is hoped that these studies will aid in the management of conditions affecting the temporomandibular joint.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.