Clue 1: Orient yourself
How does the cord direction control the motion?
Use the labels and the picture's left-to-right, near-to-far, or before-and-after order. Name only what you can point to.
The question
How does the cord direction control the motion?
Why it matters: Structure affects feeding, breathing, hearing, speech, teeth, and surgical planning. Care teams need to connect the exact structure to the function a child is using every day. Today you practice the professional reasoning behind that work: Muscle function depends on fiber direction, attachment, and continuity, not merely on muscle presence.
On your WebXam
Relating muscle fiber direction to the job the muscle performs
For life
Having a gene is not the same as using it.
Principle: Having it is not using it
Five principles we return to
Having it is not using it
Same instructions, different switches
Same look, different cause
Change one thing and watch
Boss or doorman?
Decides the result or only allows it
Held down, not gone
Remove the brake and it returns
Many roads, one ending
One result can begin many ways
Try the everyday version first
A drawstring and a lifting sling only work when their cords run correctly
Cords create useful force only when they attach and pull in the right direction. A cord that is present but misplaced can change the motion.
Do not jump to the biology yet. Treat the picture as a small system. Track its parts, follow one change at a time, and keep more than one explanation open until the picture supplies a way to separate them.
Clue 2: Trace one change
What happens if the cord ends are not connected?
Follow one object, stage, or path. Point to the first place where the situation changes instead of jumping to the ending.
Clue 3: Keep the cause open
Why would the same amount of cord fail when attached in the wrong place?
List more than one explanation that still fits. Name the extra observation that would help you separate those possibilities.
Now inspect the illustration
Work from the visible evidence. A useful answer names the part of the picture that supports it and leaves unknown causes open.
- 1How does the cord direction control the motion?
- 2What happens if the cord ends are not connected?
- 3Why would the same amount of cord fail when attached in the wrong place?
Tier 1 check
Finish with the everyday model
Use the everyday picture to answer today's question in plain words: How does the cord direction control the motion?
You can complete today's required check without opening the technical details below.
Ready for the real names? Optional tier 2
Technical rules and limits
Rule 1: Read fiber direction before predicting motion.
Rule 2: Check where each muscle begins and ends.
Rule 3: Continuity lets force travel across the structure.
Where the analogy stops: Muscles contract through cells and nerves, not by pulling passive cords.
Carry the previous idea forward
Anatomy becomes useful when each structure is tied to the job it performs.
Today's technical takeaway
Muscle function depends on fiber direction, attachment, and continuity, not merely on muscle presence.
Now map the same rules onto biology
Trace the normal lip sphincter and palatal sling
Drawstring ring
Orbicularis oris sphincter
Lifting sling
Levator veli palatini sling
Cord attachment
Muscle insertion and continuity
Educational illustration, not a clinical photograph, scan, or surgical plan. Use the labeled evidence cards and claim ceiling.
Mateo's case file: evidence supplied in this lesson
ANA02-E1
Orbicularis oris fibers normally form a continuous ring around the mouth.
Why it matters: The ring supports lip seal and coordinated movement.
ANA02-E2
Levator veli palatini fibers normally form a transverse sling across the soft palate.
Why it matters: The sling elevates the velum toward the pharyngeal wall.
ANA02-E3
Fiber direction predicts the line of pull.
Why it matters: A muscle can be present but function poorly when redirected or interrupted.
Make the clinical decision
You are the anatomy fellow preparing a function map.
A diagram shows both muscles but leaves out fiber direction and attachments.
AAdd direction, attachment, and continuity before predicting function.
BApprove it because the muscle names are present.
CReplace the muscle map with skin landmarks only.
Choose the revision and use both muscle examples.
Evidence required
ANA02-E1 + ANA02-E2 Claim ceiling
You may predict normal lines of pull. You may not infer Mateo's exact muscle displacement before viewing cleft anatomy.Go deeper Optional tier 3
Everything required for today is above. Open these only if you want the explainer, source trail, or download files.
The everyday model and Tier 1 check are the complete required path for this lesson.
Use these checks to keep your place. They are not turned in through the portal.
Check off as you finish
- Worked through the everyday picture and answered its three questions.
- Completed the Tier 1 check in plain words.
Turn in: Anatomical lesson 2: The Muscles That Make a Lip and Palate Work
Go to Schoology to turn this in.
Submit one PDF. Put your first and last name in the document header. Name the file: FirstName LastName - Assignment Title - YYYY-MM-DD.pdf.
Open Schoology PDF upload helpIf you cannot get in, see Mr. Mendoza. Do not skip the work.
Optional legacy technical materials Open only if you want the original notes, vocabulary, artifact, and CER work
Before this page, you should know
- The upper lip has a central bordered by philtral columns, with the where colored lip meets skin.
- The roof of the mouth has a bony in front and a movable in back.
If not, review
Today's new idea is only
For these muscles, direction and continuity decide function; a present muscle pointed the wrong way still fails.
Goal: Describe the as a ring that seals the lips and the as a sling that lifts the soft , and explain why fiber direction and continuity matter.
Know by the end
- The is a , a continuous ring of muscle around the mouth that crosses the to seal the lips.
- The is paired; the left and right fibers join in the to form a sling across the soft .
- That sling lifts the soft up and back to seal the , shutting the nose off from the mouth during speech and swallowing.
- A muscle that is interrupted or pointed the wrong way cannot do its job even if the skin looks closed.
1
The lip muscle
Model start: The is the of the mouth: a continuous ring whose fibers cross the so the lips seal evenly.
- A muscle that closes an opening by squeezing in a ring is a ____.
- To seal the lips evenly, the orbicularis fibers must be continuous across the ____.
2
The palate muscle
- The left and right fibers join in the middle to form a ____ (sling).
- When the sling contracts, it lifts the soft to seal the ____ (the valve to the back of the throat).
3
The rule
- The big idea: ____ and ____ decide function (a ring must be unbroken across the ; a sling must run side to side and join in the middle).
Everything you need for today is on this page. These links are optional.
What to read
Read the short plain-language explanation written for this lesson. Plain-language explainer for this lesson
Why this source matters
This explanation gives you the background for today's idea without making you decode a research paper: For these muscles, direction and continuity decide function; a present muscle pointed the wrong way still fails.
Words to unlock first
orbicularis orislevator veli palatinimuscular slingvelopharynxsphincter
Reading moves
- Skim the title and abstract first to get the gist.
- Circle the one sentence that states the main claim.
- Box the evidence the authors give for that claim.
- Mark one sentence that confuses you, and move on.
Stop point
Stop after the final 'Use it now' section. The research citations are available separately for advanced readers.
Your output
Write one claim-evidence sentence: state the main idea, then name the example or evidence that supports it.
Where this fits
Tested on (Ohio WebXam)
Genetics of Disease · 072130
PLTW lesson
MI · Anatomical domain · Muscular system; structure-function of skeletal muscle
WebXam domain
Molecular and Genetic Technology
Evidence to produce
On a top-down view of the lips and a from-below view of the soft palate, draw with colored arrows the normal fiber direction of the orbicularis oris and the levator veli palatini. For each muscle, write one sentence: what job it does and what would break if it were interrupted.
Lab / skill
Human Body Systems (HBS)
Everything required for today's decision is already in the case file and plain-language explainer. The links below are original papers and database records for teachers and advanced readers, not assigned student reading.
- Claim: For the lip and the , a muscle's ____ is just as important as the muscle being present.
- Evidence: Give the normal direction and continuity of the and of the .
- Reasoning: Explain why a muscle that is present but pointed the wrong way could still fail to do its job.
How this is graded (rubric)
For: On a top-down view of the lips and a from-below view of the soft palate, draw with colored arrows the normal fiber direction of the orbicularis oris and the levator veli palatini. For each muscle, write one sentence: what job it does and what would break if it were interrupted.
| Criterion | Proficient | Developing | Beginning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Complete | Every required part of the artifact is present and filled in. | Most parts are present, but one is missing or left blank. | Several parts are missing. |
| Accurate | The science and data are correct and match the evidence. | Mostly correct, with a small factual slip. | Key science or data is wrong. |
| Scientific reasoning (CER) | States a claim, backs it with specific evidence, and explains the reasoning. | Has a claim and evidence, but the reasoning is thin or missing. | Gives an answer with no evidence or reasoning. |
| Professional communication | Clear, organized, and labeled the way a clinician or scientist would write it. | Readable but disorganized or missing labels. | Hard to follow. |
| Submitted | Turned in through the route named under Submit here and confirmed. | Turned in, but in the wrong place or unconfirmed. | Not turned in. |
How the model answer scores against this rubric
- CompleteProficient: Nothing is left blank: the model fills every part of "On a top-down view of the lips and a from-below view of the soft palate, draw with colored arrows the normal fiber direction of the orbicularis oris and the levator veli palatini. For each muscle, write one sentence: what job it does and what would break if it were interrupted.".
- AccurateProficient: Every number and claim matches the case evidence.
- Scientific reasoning (CER)Proficient: It names a claim, cites the specific evidence, and explains the reasoning, not just the answer.
- Professional communicationProficient: It is organized and labeled like a real chart note.
- SubmittedProficient: It would be attached to your class form or handed in, and confirmed.
What's next: We know the normal muscle plan and the rule that direction and continuity decide function. But we have not yet looked closely at Mateo. So what exactly is interrupted in his lip and , and what happens to these muscles? We chase that next time.