Anatomy of the Masticatory Space and Peripharyngeal Space

Abstract

The fascial compartments of the infracranial space have long been an object of surgical and anatomic interest. The earliest description was published by Burns (1811), and the fascia were later studied and described by Velpeau (1830), Dittel (1857), Henle (1871), Weber-Liel (1873), Poulsen (1886), Merkel (1892), Bulatnikow (1915), Grodinsky and Holyoke (1938), Hall (1934), Singer (1935), Zenker (1955), and others. The region between the maxilla and mandible anteriorly and the prevertebral muscles posteriorly is occupied by a number of connective tissue membranes which control at least temporarily the spread and the direction of spread of extravasated fluids, abscesses, tumors, and cysts (Casberg 1950). Most of these fascial sheets serve to facilitate the relative movement of muscles, nerves, and blood vessels. The fat pad of the cheek, with its numerous processes, fills in the interspaces between the muscles as they perform their diverse functions and movements. Another important function is performed by the venous pterygoid plexus, which can alter its state of filling to obliterate dead spaces that form during movement. As noted above, the plexus communicates with veins and sinuses of the cranial interior and receives a number of tributaries from the undersurface of the skull.