We’ve Found Another New Body Part No One Has Noticed Before!

Scientists surprise everyone from time to time by finding new body parts. And now with the discovery of yet another body part, it’s time once again to update the anatomy textbooks. A muscle layer in the lower jaw, which plays an important role in chewing, was first described by scientists in the Annals of Anatomy journal.

The new muscle, located deep in the masseter muscle, which is the most prominent of the jaw muscles, is located between the back of the cheekbones and the lower jaw.

You can feel the masseter muscle by placing your fingers behind your cheeks while chewing. This muscle was thought to consist of only two layers, one deep and one superficial. Still, some texts referred to a mysterious super-deep third layer.

“In light of these conflicting explanations, we wanted to comprehensively re-examine the structure of the masseter muscle,” Professor Jens Christoph Türp from the Center for Dentistry at the University of Basel said in a statement.

It was this hidden third layer that the team led by Türp and Dr Szilvia Mezey from the Department of Biomedicine at the University of Basel discovered at the end of their research. “This deep section of the masseter muscle is clearly distinguishable from the other two layers in terms of course and function,” Mezey said.

Examining the arrangement of the muscle fibers, Mezey added that the new layer plays a role in stabilizing the lower jaw. He also believes it is the only piece of masseter that pulls the lower jaw back.

Jens. C. Türp, University of Basel / UZB

The team dissected 12 heads preserved in formaldehyde and analyzed CT scans of 16 “fresh” cadavers, as well as an MRI scan from a living subject to determine the position and possible function of the new muscle layer.

Of course, a new body part needs a shiny new name. In their paper, the team recommends calling it Musculus masseter pars coronidea, meaning the coronoid part of the masseter, because it attaches to the muscular (coronoid) portion of the lower jaw.

The authors conclude that the finding is not only anatomically significant, but may also be clinically significant. Precise knowledge of the masseter muscle will improve lower jaw surgery and treatments.

“Overall, our finding is a bit like the discovery of a new vertebrate species by zoologists, although it is assumed that anatomical research over the last 100 years has left no stone unturned,” says Türp. . .