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Gender differences in the lateral pterygoid muscle: Implications for the etiology of temperomandibular disorder
Author(s) -
Heller Aaron,
Hessel Kara,
Wright Barth
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.lb7
Subject(s) - lateral pterygoid muscle , anatomy , nasion , cadaver , pterygoid muscles , craniofacial , skull , orthodontics , medicine , temporomandibular joint , condyle , psychiatry
Women are twice as likely as men to develop temporomandibular disorder (TMD) and the lateral pterygoid muscle has been implicated in this pathology. We examined gender differences in lateral pterygoid muscle origin and insertion areas, and vector force magnitudes (VFM), which are the moment contributions from the superior and inferior head of the muscle given their 3D geometry and insertion site. In 12 male and 17 female cadavers, we used a microscribe to collect 3D outlines of the origin of the superior and inferior head and the mandibular insertion of the lateral pterygoid muscle, as well as 13 bony landmarks. Linear measurements of muscle and bone were calculated using Geomagic Studio v.11.0 software, origin and insertion areas were calculated with the program Area Centroid, and VFMs were calculated using the program Boneload. We scaled the VFMs and areas, with skull size using a geometric mean composed of 9 linear craniofacial measurements connecting the 13 bony landmarks. We found a significant increase in the adjusted VFM for the superior head of the lateral pterygoid in females (0.0875) compared to males (0.0808) (p=0.016). This suggests, given identical muscle loads, that the female superior head has a potential for generating stronger muscle forces than males. This may contribute to the propensity of females to develop TMD.