Muscles acting on the Temporomandibular Joint

• Movements of the temporomandibular joint are chiefly from the action of the muscles of mastication.
• The temporalis, masseter, and medial pterygoid muscles produce biting movements.
• The lateral pterygoid muscles protrude the mandible with the help from the medial pterygoid muscles and retruded largely by the posterior fibres of the temporalis muscle.
• Gravity is sufficient to depress the mandible, but if there is resistance, the lateral pterygoid, suprahyoid and infrahyoid, mylohyoid and anterior digastric muscles are activated.

Sternum

o    Forms the medial part of the anterior chest wall
o    Manubrium (upper part)-clavicle and first rib articulate with the manubrium .
o    Body (middle blade)-second and tenth ribs articulate with the body via the costal cartilages
o    Xiphoid (blunt cartilaginous tip)

Ribs (12 pairs)

o    Each rib articulates with both the body and the transverse process of its corresponding
o    thoracic vertebra
o    The second to ninth ribs articulate with the body of the vertebra above'
o    Ribs curve outward, forward, and then downward
o    Anteriorly, each of the first seven ribs joins a costal cartilage that attaches to the sternum
o    Next three ribs (eighth to tenth) join the cartilage of the rib above
o    Eleventh and twelfth ribs do not attach to the sternum; are called "floating ribs"

Nerves of the Palate

• The sensory nerves of the palate, which are branches of the pterygopalatine ganglion, are the greater and lesser palatine nerves.
• They accompany the arteries through the greater and lesser palatine foramina, respectively.

• The greater palatine nerve supplies the gingivae, mucous membrane, and glands of the hard palate.

• The lesser palatine nerve supplies the soft palate.

• Another branch of the pterygopalatine ganglion, the nasopalatine nerve, emerges from the incisive foramen and supplies the mucous membrane of the anterior part of the hard palate.

Vessels of the Palate

• The palate has a rich blood supply from branches of the maxillary artery.

Structure of the Nasal Septum

• This part bony, part cartilaginous septum divides the chamber of the nose into two narrow nasal cavities.
• The bony part of the septum is usually located in the median plane until age 7; thereafter, it often deviates to one side, usually the right.

• The nasal septum has three main components: (1) the perpendicular plate of the ethmoid bone; (2) the vomer, and (3) the septal cartilage.

• The perpendicular plate, which forms the superior part of the septum, is very thin and descends from the cribiform plate of the ethmoid bone.
• The vomer, which forms the posteroinferior part of the septum, is a thin, flat bone. It articulates with the sphenoid, maxilla and palatine bones.

Veins of the Face

The Supratrochlear Vein

• This vessel begins on the forehead from a network of veins connected to the frontal tributaries of the superficial temporal vein.
• It descends near the medial plane with its fellow on the other side.
• These veins diverge near the orbits, each joining a supraorbital vein to form the facial vein near the medial canthus (angle of the eye).

The Supraorbital Vein

• This vessel begins near the zygomatic process of the temporal bone.
• It joins the tributaries of the superficial and middle temporal veins.
• It passes medially and joins the supratrochlear vein to form the facial vein near the medial canthus.

The Facial Vein

• This vein provides the major venous drainage of the face.

• It begins at the medial canthus of the eye by the union of the supraorbital and supratrochlear veins.
• It runs inferoposteriorly through the face, posterior to the facial artery, but takes a more superficial and straighter course than the artery.
• Inferior to the margin of the mandible, the facial vein is joined by the anterior branch of the retromandibular vein.
• The facial veins ends by draining into the internal jugular vein.

The Superficial Temporal Vein

• This vein drains the forehead and scalp and receives tributaries from the veins of the temple and face.
• In the region of the temporomandibular joint, this vein enters the parotid gland.

The Retromandibular Vein

• The union of the superficial temporal and maxillary veins forms this vessel, posterior to the neck of the mandible.
• It descends within the parotid gland, superficial to the external carotid artery but deep to the facial nerve.
• It divides into an anterior branch that unites with the facial vein, and a posterior branch that joins the posterior auricular vein to form the external jugular vein.

Innervation of the Pharynx

• The motor and most of the sensory supply of the pharynx is derived from the pharyngeal plexus of nerves on the surface of the pharynx.
• The plexus is formed by pharyngeal branches of the vagus (CN X) and glossopharyngeal (CN IX) nerves, and by sympathetic branches for the superior cervical ganglion.

• The motor fibres in the pharyngeal plexus are derived from the cranial root of accessory nerve (CN XI), and are carried by the vagus nerve to all muscles of the pharynx and soft palate.
• The exceptions are stylopharyngeus (supplied by CN IX) and the tensor veli palatini (supplied by CN V3).