Temporalis
The temporalis is a facial muscle, one of a pair of which one is located on either side of the head, slightly above and forward of each ear.
An example of a function of the temporalis muscle is to chew food.
The points of origin and insertion, and the actions of the temporalis muscle:
| Origin: | Temporal fossa, including surfaces on the frontal, parietal and temporal bones |
| Insertion: | Coronoid process and ramus of the mandible (lower jaw bone) |
| Actions: |
The temporalis muscle is one of the three muscles of mastication, the other two being the masseter and the medial pterygoid (which is also known as the 'internal pterygoid muscle').
The temporalis is one of the muscles of the head, neck, and face taught as part of many courses in Indian Head Massage. As this is a popular therapy we have included several pages that may be of interest to students of Indian Head Massage. See, for example, the page about skeletal structures of the head and neck.
See the page about Facial Muscles to view the location of the temporalis muscle. (This page consists of an interactive, rather than just a labelled, diagram, so you'll have to test yourself by guessing which muscle is the temporalis until you find the correct label.)
More about Muscles:
- The structure of muscle tissue and the structure of muscle cells
- Labelled diagrams of the muscles in different parts of the body including anterior muscles, posterior muscles and facial muscles
- Various other pages about e.g. types of muscle contractions, movements at joints, muscular disorders and related topics such as books about sports medicine
- Anterior Muscles
- Posterior Muscles
- Facial Muscles
- Muscle Terminology (Definitions)
- 1. Structure of Muscle
- 2. Structure of Muscle Cells
- 3. Muscle Filaments
- 4. Sliding Filament Theory
- 5. Neuromuscular Junction
- 6. Actions at Neuromuscular Junction
- Types of Muscle Contractions
- Muscular Disorders
- Effects of exercise on muscles
