Bichat's Fat Pads
Historical document, translated for reference. It reflects medical knowledge of the 1920s–30s and is not medical advice.
Summary
Bichat's fat pads are encapsulated fatty structures located on the masseter muscles in young children that resist resorption during general atrophy. According to 1930s medical understanding, they likely assist in the act of sucking by stabilizing the cheeks during negative pressure generation, disappearing as children grow older.
Encyclopedia entry (1928–1936)
BICHAT'S FAT PADS, fatty formations palpable in the cheeks of young children in both sides, situated on the masseter muscles. This fat is resorbed with difficulty, and the pads remain even with significant atrophy; they disappear only when all fat depots are depleted in extreme degrees of atrophy, and upon improvement of nutritional status, they appear first. Bichat's fat pads apparently play a role in the act of sucking, creating a certain rigidity of the mouth walls during the generation of negative pressure within the mouth. Older children do not possess these pads.
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Cite this page
“Bichat's Fat Pads.” Soviet Medical Encyclopedia. English translation of Bolshaya Meditsinskaya Entsiklopediya, 1st ed. (Moscow, 1928–1936), ed. N. A. Semashko. https://sovietmedicalencyclopedia.pages.dev/article/bichats-fat-pads/