Zygomatic arch

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Zygomatic arch

The zygomatic arch is formed by the zygomatic process of temporal bone

Zygomatic process of temporal bone

The zygomatic process of the temporal bone is a long, arched process projecting from the lower part of the Squama temporalis of the temporal bone....
(a bone extending forward from the side of the skull

Skull

The skull is a bone structure found in the head of many animals. The skull supports the structures of the face and protects the head against injury....
, over the opening of the ear) and the temporal process of the zygomatic bone

Zygomatic bone

The zygomatic bone is a paired bone of the human skull. It articulates with the maxilla, the temporal bone, the sphenoid bone and the frontal bone....
(the side of the cheekbone), the two being united by an oblique suture; the tendon of the Temporalis passes medial to the arch to gain insertion into the coronoid process

Coronoid process

The Coronoid process can refer to:* The coronoid process of the mandible, part of the ramus mandibulae of the mandible* The coronoid process of the ulna...
of the mandible

Mandible

The mandible or inferior maxillary bone forms the lower jaw and holds the lower tooth in place. It also refers to both the upper and lower sections of the beaks of birds....
.

The term zygomatic derives from the Latin zyosislymore meaning malar bone or cheekbone.

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The zygomatic arch is formed by the zygomatic process of temporal bone

Zygomatic process of temporal bone

Skull

Zygomatic bone

Coronoid process

The Coronoid process can refer to:* The coronoid process of the mandible, part of the ramus mandibulae of the mandible* The coronoid process of the ulna...
of the mandible

Mandible

Zygoma

The term zygoma generally refers to the zygomatic bone, a bone of the human skull commonly referred to as the cheekbone or malar bone, but it may also refer to:...
, but this term usually refers to the zygomatic bone or occasionally the zygomatic process

Zygomatic process

Zygomatic process is a protrusion from the rest of the skull, like the Bumper of a car. Most of it belongs to the zygomatic bone, and could therefore be called the zygomatic process of the zygomatic bone....
.

The zygomatic process of the temporal arises by two roots:

an anterior, directed inward in front of the mandibular fossa
Mandibular fossa

In the temporal bone, the mandibular fossa is bounded, in front, by the articular tubercle; behind, by the tympanic part of the bone, which separates it from the external acoustic meatus; it is divided into two parts by a narrow slit, the petrotympanic fissure ....
, 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 temporal fascia

Temporal fascia

The temporal fascia covers the Temporalis muscle.It is a strong, fibrous investment, covered, laterally, by the Auricularis anterior and superior, by the galea aponeurotica, and by part of the Orbicularis oculi....
; the lower border and medial surface give origin to the Masseter.

The zygomatic arch is significant in evolutionary biology

Evolutionary biology

Evolutionary biology is a sub-field of biology concerned with the origin of species from a common descent and descent of species, as well as their evolution, multiplication and diversity over time....
, as it is part of the structures derived from the ancestral single temporal fenestra of the synapsid

Synapsid

Synapsids , also known as theropsids , are a class of animals that includes mammals and everything closer to mammals than to other living amniotes....
ancestor of mammal

Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
s.

Zygomatic arch

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