Chewing - Wikipedia Chewing or mastication is the process by which food is crushed and ground by the teeth It is the first step in the process of digestion, allowing a greater surface area for digestive enzymes and bile to break down the foods
What Are the Muscles of Mastication and How They Work The muscles of mastication are four paired muscles that control chewing by moving your lower jaw They are the masseter, temporalis, medial pterygoid, and lateral pterygoid All four are powered by the same nerve (the mandibular branch of the trigeminal nerve) and work together to produce five basic jaw movements: closing, opening, pushing forward, pulling back, and shifting side to side The
Chewing | Mastication, Muscles, Jaw Movements | Britannica chewing, up-and-down and side-to-side movements of the lower jaw that assist in reducing particles of solid food, making them more easily swallowed; teeth usually act as the grinding and biting surface In cats and dogs, food is reduced only to a size that permits easy swallowing
Mastication - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics Mastication is defined as the process of chewing food, involving both vertical and horizontal movements of the mandibles to break down food into smaller fragments suitable for swallowing, while mixing it with saliva to aid in digestion
Mastication (Chewing): Definition Muscles | Biology Dictionary Mastication is the mechanical grinding of food into smaller pieces by teeth; it is essentially a technical word for “chewing” Mastication breaks down food so that it can go through the esophagus to the stomach
MASTICATION Definition Meaning | Dictionary. com Mastication is the noun form of the verb masticate, meaning to chew or, less commonly, to reduce to a pulp by crushing or kneading, as is done in the rubber-making process Mastication is almost always used in a scientific or technical context