Muscle Spindle Distribution in the Masticatory Muscle of the Japanese Shrew-Mole

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
This investigation was designed to obtain anatomical information about the neuromuscular mechanism of human jaw movement by a comparative study of insectivores. Study of the masticatory muscles of the Japanese shrew-mole showed that muscle spindles are concentrated in restricted areas of the inner layer of the horizontal and vertical portions of the temporal muscle, the medial portion of the medial pterygoid muscle, and the deep portion of the masseter muscle. The lateral pterygoid muscle contains no spindles.