A diagram detailing human facial muscles, including thezygomaticus major (red), which is contained within the cheeks and is integral to the action of smiling
Thecheeks (Latin:buccae) constitute the area of theface below theeyes and between thenose and the left or rightear.Buccal means relating to the cheek. Inhumans, the region is innervated by thebuccal nerve. The area between the inside of the cheek and the teeth and gums is called thevestibule orbuccal pouch orbuccal cavity and forms part of themouth. In other animals, the cheeks may also be referred to as "jowls".
Cheeks are fleshy in humans,[1] the skin being suspended by thechin and thejaws, and forming the lateral wall of the human mouth, visibly touching thecheekbone below the eye. The inside of the cheek is lined with amucous membrane (buccal mucosa, part of theoral mucosa).
Duringmastication (chewing), the cheeks and tongue between them serve to keep the food between the teeth.
The cheek is the most common location from which aDNA sample can be taken. (Some saliva is collected from inside the mouth, e.g. using a cotton-tipped rod called aswab or "Q-Tip". The procedure of collecting a sample in that way is typically called a "cheek swab".)
The cheeks are covered externally by hairy skin, and internally bystratified squamous epithelium. This is mostly smooth, but may have caudally directedpapillae (e.g., inruminants).[2] The mucosa is supplied with secretions from thebuccal glands, which are arranged in superior and inferior groups. In carnivores, the superior buccal gland is large and discrete: thezygomatic gland. Duringmastication, the cheeks and tongue between them serve to keep the food between the teeth.
In somevertebrates, markings on the cheek area, particularly immediately beneath the eye, often serve as important distinguishing features betweenspecies orindividuals.
