Craniofacial Muscles e-bog

The craniofacial musculature, including the extraocular muscles, muscles associated with theauditory system, the masseter, the tongue, and the laryngeal and pharyngeal muscles, allparticipate in functions that are critical to life: vision, intact of nutrition, breathing, and hearing.Despite their critical importance, the majority of research on skeletal muscle basically hasignored this collection of muscles. This is most likely due to their complexity in form,development, fiber types, physiology, and disease profiles. All these make these musclesextremely difficult to study.Vision depends on voluntary and reflexive eye movements initiated by the oculomotor system.The effector arm of this motor system includes the extraocular muscles and their motor neurons.Mastication, and therefore food intake, depends on the complex movements of the masseter andtongue musculature. The effector arm of this motor system includes the masseter and tonguemuscles and their motor neurons. Respiration, human phonation, as well as gestation, depend onthe laryngeal and pharyngeal musculature. The effector arm of these motor systems includes theintrinsic and extrinsic laryngeal muscles and the pharyngeal muscles and their motor neurons.Recently there has been a renewed interest in understanding the basic cell biology andpathologies associated with these unusual skeletal muscles. This book will highlight novelfindings on the development of these muscles and their innervation, metabolic design, functionalconsequences of their structural organization, and potential reasons for their differential responseto various neuromuscular diseases. In addition, critical areas for future studies will be identified.