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buccinator

American  
[buhk-suh-ney-ter] / ˈbʌk səˌneɪ tər /

noun

Anatomy.
  1. a thin, flat muscle lining the cheek, the action of which contracts and compresses the cheek.


buccinator British  
/ ˈbʌksɪˌneɪtə /

noun

  1. a thin muscle that compresses the cheeks and holds them against the teeth during chewing, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of buccinator

1665–75; < New Latin; Latin buccinātor, būcinātor trumpeter, equivalent to būcinā ( re ) to signal on a trumpet (verbal derivative of būcina curved trumpet or horn) + -tor -tor

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

A large portion of the face is composed of the buccinator muscle, which compresses the cheek.

From Textbooks Jun. 19, 2013

Between the skin and mucous membranes are connective tissue and buccinator muscles.

From Textbooks Jun. 19, 2013

The next time you eat some food, notice how the buccinator muscles in your cheeks and the orbicularis oris muscle in your lips contract, helping you keep the food from falling out of your mouth.

From Textbooks Jun. 19, 2013

In the ox and the horse this muscle does not exist; it is replaced for the depression of the lower lip, which it affects in other animals, by supplemental fibres of the buccinator.

From Artistic Anatomy of Animals by ?douard Cuyer

After crossing the masseter, the duct pierces the buccinator muscle and the mucous membrane obliquely, and opens into the mouth opposite the second upper molar tooth.

From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Alexander Miles

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