Medial Pterygoid Muscle - Origin and Insertion

Origin and Insertion

It consists of two heads.

• The bulk of the muscle arises as a deep head from just above the medial surface of the lateral pterygoid plate.
• The smaller, superficial head originates from the maxillary tuberosity and the pyramidal process of the palatine bone.

Its fibers pass downward, lateral, and posterior, and are inserted, by a strong tendinous lamina, into the lower and back part of the medial surface of the ramus and angle of the mandible, as high as the mandibular foramen. The insertion joins the masseter muscle to form a common tendinous sling which allows the medial pterygoid and masseter to be powerful elevators of the jaw.