Development of Form and Function of the Rabbit Masticatory System

摘要

The shapes of infant and adult mammalian skulls are quite different. Neonatalmammals are short-snouted relative to adults. Large forward and vertical growth of the face occurs postnatally. As most of the masticatory muscles are attached to both facial and neurocranial skull their orientation can be expected to change in the course of development. Furthermore, the oral system switches from a suckling to a chewing food uptake mechanism. The purpose of the thesis is to examine the normal postnatal development of the rabbit masticatory system and to interrelate the changes in muscle morphology, biomechanics and motor pattern. To this purpose, the masticatory muscles have been divided into small functionally and anatomically homogeneous portions. (Copyright (c) GEJ Langenbach, Amsterdam 1992.)