Zygomatic arch

Zygomatic arch
Side view of the skull.
Articulation of the mandible. Lateral aspect.
Details
Identifiers
Latin	arcus zygomaticus
MeSH	D015050
TA98	A02.1.00.023
TA2	427
FMA	53120
Anatomical terminology [edit on Wikidata]

In

The jugal point is the point at the anterior (towards face) end of the upper border of the zygomatic arch where the masseteric and maxillary edges meet at an angle, and where it meets the process of the zygomatic bone.^{[clarification needed]}

The arch is typical of Synapsida ("fused arch"), a clade of amniotes that includes mammals and their extinct relatives, such as Moschops and Dimetrodon.

Structure

The zygomatic process of the temporal arises by two roots:

• an anterior, directed inward in front of the mandibular fossa, where it expands to form the articular tubercle.
• a posterior, which runs backward above the
  external acoustic meatus
  and is continuous with the supramastoid crest.

The upper border of the arch gives attachment to the

Society and culture

The term zygomatic derives from the Greek ζύγωμα zygōma, meaning "bolt, bar", derived from ζυγο-, "yoke, join". The Greek word was already used with this anatomical sense by Galen (2.437, 746) in the 2nd century AD. The zygomatic arch is occasionally referred to as the zygoma, but this term usually refers to the zygomatic bone or occasionally the zygomatic process.

Other animals

The zygomatic arch is significant in

• 
  Left temporal bone, outer surface
• 
  Left zygomatic bone, malar surface
• 
  Base of skull, inferior surface
• 
  The temporalis; the zygomatic arch and masseter have been removed.
• 
  Dissection, showing salivary glands of right side
• 
  Fracture of the zygomatic arch as seen on plain X-ray
• 
  Zygomatic arch, base of skull

See also

• Zygoma fracture
• Zygomasseteric system
• Zygomatic complex fracture
• Zygomaticotemporal suture

References

This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 183 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)