Pterygomandibular raphe at a glance
- What it is
- A tendinous band between the pterygoid hamulus and the mandible, not a true muscle.
- Location
- Extends from the pterygoid hamulus of the sphenoid bone to the posterior end of the mylohyoid line of the mandible.
- Function
- Provides attachment for buccinator in front and the superior pharyngeal constrictor behind, linking the cheek and pharynx.
- Body system
- Muscular · paired (left and right)
- FMA ID
- FMA55620 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- Lies deep to the pterygomandibular fold, a mucosal fold visible behind the last molar
- It marks the junction between buccinator (a muscle of facial expression) and the superior pharyngeal constrictor, so the cheek and pharyngeal walls form one continuous muscular tube.
Clinical relevance
It is a landmark for inferior alveolar nerve block.
Structures next to the pterygomandibular raphe
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- Digastric · muscular
- Upper second secondary molar tooth · digestive
- Superior pharyngeal constrictor · muscular
- Lower second secondary molar tooth · digestive
- Stylohyoid · muscular
- Submandibular gland · digestive
- Upper first secondary molar tooth · digestive
- Internal carotid artery · cardiovascular
- Stylohyoid ligament · skeletal
- Palatine bone · skeletal
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: Pterygomandibular raphe (FMA55620). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
- OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §11.2 Naming Skeletal Muscles. Rice University, 2022.
- Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.
Related anatomy
Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.