The Pterygoidei; the zygomatic arch and a portion of the ramus of the mandible have been removed. (Labeled as "pterygoideus externus", visible in pink at center.)
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| colspan="2" |
|- style="text-align: center; line-height: 1;" class="hiddenStructure"
| colspan="2" |Sagittal section of the articulation of the mandible. (Labeled as "pterygoideus externus", visible in gray at bottom right.)
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|Latin
|colspan="2"|m. pterygoideus lateralis, m. pterygoideus externus
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|[[List of subjects in Gray's Anatomy:109#Gray.27s_page_.23|Gray's]]
|colspan="2"|[subject #109 ]
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|Origin:
|colspan="2"|
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|Insertion:
|colspan="2"|mandible
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|[[Template:Arteries|Blood:]]
|colspan="2"|
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|Nerve:
|colspan="2"|external pterygoid nerve from the mandibular nerve
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|Action:
|colspan="2"|
|- class="hiddenStructure"
|Antagonist:
|colspan="2"|
|- class="hiddenStructure"
|MeSH
|colspan="2"|[A02.633.567.600.700]
|- class="hiddenStructure"
|Dorlands/Elsevier
|colspan="2"|[m_22/12550292]
|}
The lateral pterygoid (or external pterygoid) is a muscle of mastication with two heads.
The upper head originates on the infratemporal surface of the sphenoid bone, and the lower head on the lateral surface of the lateral pterygoid plate.
Muscles of the [[Template:Muscles of head|Head]] — [[Template:Muscles of neck|Neck]] — [[Template:Muscles of trunk|Trunk]] — [[Template:Muscles of upper limb|Upper limb]] — [[Template:Muscles of lower limb|Lower limb]]— LIST OF ALL MUSCLES
