The temple muscle
Temporalis · musculus temporalis
A fan-shaped muscle on the side of your head that closes your jaw.
What it does
The temporalis fans out across the side of the skull above the ear and narrows into a tendon that passes under the cheekbone arch to the lower jaw. It closes the mouth and pulls the jaw backwards. Put your fingers on your temple and clench your teeth to feel it work.
Surprising fact
In gorillas and some other apes, the temporalis is so big that a bony crest grows along the top of the skull to anchor it.
Why it matters
Tension in the temporalis from clenching or stress is a common trigger for headaches felt in the temples.
Nearby
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Sources
Drafted with AI help; awaiting a human fact-check against these sources.
Open in the 3D atlas · Suggest a correction · Not medical advice.
3D models: Z-Anatomy & BodyParts3D (CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2.1 JP). Card text CC BY 4.0.