(By Dr. Joseph D. Lim and Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim, BS-MMG, DDM, MSc-OI)
THERE is a new part of the body that’s never been known before. Or at least hinted at but never confirmed to exist.
It is a structure that sits inside the back of the cheekbone and runs to the anterior muscle of the lower jaw. The muscle, which raises the lower jaw, is important for chewing.
The newly discovered muscle layer is called the masseter, formerly known as a muscle with two layers.
The discovery is important because knowing about the muscle layer could help doctors to improve surgeries in that part of the jaw. The new knowledge could help them better treat conditions involving the joint that joins the jawbone to the skull, livescience.com reports.
Researchers suggest that the newfound muscle layer is named “Musculus masseter pars coronidea” or “coronoid part of the masseter”.
In a report published in the online edition of the journal Annals of Anatomy, researchers describe the “new” third layer that runs from the “cheek bones” and can be felt just in front of the ear.
“This deep section of the masseter muscle is clearly distinguishable from the two other layers in terms of its course and function,” Szilvia Mezey, the first author and a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Biomedicine at the University of Basel in Switzerland, says in a press statement.
The muscle layer possibly stabilizes the lower jaw by “elevating and retracting” the process of raising the jaw. The researchers say the newfound muscle layer is the only part of the masseter that can pull the jawbone backward.
“Although it’s generally assumed that anatomical research in the last 100 years has left no stone unturned, our finding is a bit like zoologists discovering a new species of vertebrate,” says Dr. Jens Christoph Türp, senior author and a Professor and clinician at the University Center for Dental Medicine Basel.
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Dr. Joseph D. Lim is the former Associate Dean of the College of Dentistry, University of the East; former Dean, College of Dentistry, National University; Past President and Honorary Fellow of the Asian Oral Implant Academy; Honorary Fellow of the Japan College of Oral Implantologists; and Honorary Life Member of the Thai Association of Dental Implantology. For questions on dental health, e-mail jdlim2008@gmail.com or text 0917-8591515.
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Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim, BS-MMG, DDM, MSc-OI, graduated Doctor of Dental Medicine, University of the Philippines College of Dentistry, Manila, 2011; Bachelor of Science in Marketing Management, De la Salle University, Manila, 2002; and Master of Science (MSc.) in Oral Implantology, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany, 2019. He is an Associate professor; Fellow, International Congress of Oral Implantologists; Member, American Academy of Implant Dentistry and Philippine College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, e-mail limdentalcenter@gmail.com/PN
