Korean J Phys Anthropol.  2013 Dec;26(4):141-146. 10.11637/kjpa.2013.26.4.141.

The Location of the Modiolus in Living Korean

• Ahn HJ
• Cho HJ
• Nam YS
• Han SH
• Chung IH
• Kim IB

• KMID: 1502523
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.11637/kjpa.2013.26.4.141

Abstract

Modiolus is convergence of the facial muscles at the angle of the mouth, and its shape and size varying with individual, age, sex and ethnicity. In the previous study, the modiolus was usually located under the horizontal line at the mouth angle. In most medical schools, the cadavers are of later ages and their facial muscles have lost their elasticity as they got older. The purpose of this study is to identify the location of the modiolus in live young Korean and to compare it with that of Korean cadavers from the previous study. Participants were one hundred students of the catholic medical school with a mean age of 24 years. Experimenter palpated the modiolus of each student with thumb and index finger. The average young live Korean modiolus was located at 14.4 mm lateral to mouth angle and 1.6 mm below the horizontal line of the mouth angle. Commonly, it is located below the mouth angle in 124 sides (62%). There was difference between horizontal distance of female and of male, and vertical distance of right and of left. The location of the modiouls was symmetric in 67%. These results were consistent with the previous study using Korean cadavers. Therefore these results suggest that the location of the modiolus is below to the mouth angle in large number of Koreans.

Keyword

Modiolus; Facial muscles

MeSH Terms

Cadaver
Elasticity
Facial Muscles
Female
Fingers
Humans
Male
Mouth
Schools, Medical
Thumb

Figure

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  Fig. 1. The location of the modiolus in living young Korean. Type I (�): modiolus is horizontal line to the mouth angle, Type II (▲): modiolus is above to the mouth angle, Type III(●): modiolus is below to the mouth angle.

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  Fig. 2. The type of smile according to Rubin(1974). (A) “Mona Lisa” smile, (B) “canine” smile, (C) “full denture” smile.

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  Fig. 3. The location change of the modiolus according to expression (sex: male, age: 23, (A) absence of expression, (B) pull the mouth angle up, (C) pull the mouth angle down (D) pull the mouth angle both side).

Reference

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