Lateral Pterygoid
Action
The lateral pterygoid muscle acts to depress and protrude the mandible.
Origin
Superior: Infratemporal surface and the infratemporal crest of the greater wing of the sphenoid bone.
Inferior: Lateral side of the lateral pterygoid plate
Insertion
Superior: The articular disc and fibrous capsule of the temporomandibular joint.
Inferior: The pterygoid fossa on the condylar head of the mandible.
Innervation
The V3 (mandibular) branch of the trigeminal nerve (cranial nerve V) innervates the temporalis muscle.
Image by Jennifer Harries. Adapted from an image in the BMS225 handbook.