Skull model with 38 removable masticatory and facial muscles

Anatomically, it should be emphasized that this skull model offers an educational opportunity to study the facial and masticatory muscles on both sides of the skull.



As for the position, size and shape of the muscles, they are represented with great accuracy and removable. Lips and the cartilage of the nose are also seen.



Generally speaking, the human skull can be divided into 2 parts, and the skull model therefore shows the following when the muscles are removed:



1) The braincase (neurocranium), which is intended to enclose the brain and the hearing-equilibrium organ



2) The facial skeleton (viscerocranium) which surrounds the nasal cavity and forms the tooth-bearing framework around the oral cavity. The 32 teeth are also included



The braincase consists of 8 bones. There are 4 unpaired (the frontal, sphenoid, sphenoid and occipital bones) and 2 paired (the occipital and temporal bones). All these bones as well as sutures can be identified on the skull model.



The facial skeleton includes 6 paired bones (the maxilla, palatine, cheekbone, nasal bone, lacrimal bone, and lower conchbone) and 3 unpaired bones called the mandible, the ploughshare, and the zygomatic bone (some do not count the zygomatic bone as part of the facial skeleton). All these bones and sutures can also be identified on the skull model. NB: The hyoid bone is also included in the facial skeleton but cannot be seen on this skull model.



The human skull contains many holes and channels containing vessels and nerves. Overall, there are connections between the braincase and the neck, to and from the eye socket, to and from the pterygo-palatine fossa and to and from the nasal cavity.



This skull model shows many of the most important holes and canals, but not all. Furthermore, the level of detail on the bones is good. As for "osseous landmarks" such as the processus styloideus, many of the most important are seen, while some minor participants are omitted.

In terms of movement, it is only relevant to mention the jaw joint. The lower jaw bone ("mandible") is held in place via a relatively long metal spring, which is attached via screws to the mandible and palatine bone. In addition, large pieces of rubber are mounted in the joint bowls (fossa mandibularis) of the jaw joints, which hold the joint head (caput mandibulae) "like in a rubber bowl" (can be seen in the pictures on the left).



The model's jaw joints are not very flexible. Natural movements in the jaw joint require that, among other things, the articular head can slide forward and downward until the articular head is forward on the tuberculum articulare. The latter is the bony part with a weak guiding groove in front of the depression (fossa mandibularis). This can only be demonstrated on the model if the rubber in the joint cups is removed, which the model is not designed for.



If you take a firm hold of the mandible, you can however move it up and down and to the sides, although the natural sliding joint mechanism as described above cannot be demonstrated at all.



The mandible can be completely removed, but it requires at least one screw to be removed with a screwdriver.

Clinically, the skull model can be used to understand diseases and disorders in the jaw joint and masticatory muscles, such as jaw tension and temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD). The model can also be used for medical problems related to facial muscles, such as facial paresis.



The model is also ideal for understanding other diseases, disorders and disorders in this part of the skeleton.