Myomorphous
Zygomasseteric system
Bones & muscles in rodents' heads that enable them to chew front-to-back
The zygomasseteric system (or zygomasseteric structure) in rodents is the anatomical arrangement of the masseter muscle of the jaw and the zygomatic arch of the skull. The anteroposterior or propalinal (front-to-back) motion of the rodent jaw is enabled by an extension of the zygomatic arch and the division of the masseter into a superficial, lateral and medial muscle. The four main types are described as protrogomorphous, sciuromorphous, hystricomorphous, and myomorphous.[1]
This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. (July 2017) |