ABSTRACT
The craniomandibular muscles function within a soft tissue environment with the primary purpose of developing forces at different levels to articulate the mandible with the cranioskeleton. The craniomandibular muscles are used to assist in controlling the upper respiratory pathway, to manipulate the mandible for eliciting intelligible sounds, to take in and transport food and fluids into the upper gastrointestinal tract, and to shape and break down food for that gastrointestinal transport. In these functions, the craniomandibular muscles must work through the primary and distinctive characteristics of this tissue, its ability to develop forces which are transmitted to the skeletal structure on which the muscles insert. The muscles develop forces through the cranioskeleton and mandible to provide stability, precise move ments, and effective loading forces from the occlusion.
