Final answer:
The tensor veli palatini muscle is the one that hooks around the pterygoid hamulus, and its function is to tense the soft palate. The lateral pterygoid muscle is also related to the pterygoid area, moving the mandible from side to side. These muscles are crucial for mechanisms such as speaking and chewing.
Step-by-step explanation:
The muscle that hooks around the pterygoid hamulus is the tensor veli palatini. This muscle is involved in the movement of the soft palate. The pterygoid hamulus is a hook-like process of the medial pterygoid plate of the sphenoid bone. The tensor veli palatini loops around this structure to reach its insertion point at the palatine aponeurosis. The function of this muscle is to tense the soft palate during swallowing and speaking, which helps to close off the nasopharynx, preventing food from entering the nasal cavity.
The lateral pterygoid muscle is another muscle related to the pterygoid area; it is involved in the movement of the mandible. The lateral pterygoid muscle has two heads (a superior and an inferior head) and it assists in moving the mandible from side to side (lateralis refers to the outside), as well as protruding it forward.
Understanding the anatomy of these muscles and their functions provides insight into the complexity of movements and mechanisms within the human body, particularly in the context of speech and mastication (chewing). The anatomical features such as the brevis, and their associated blood vessels and nerves, also play vital roles in the proper functioning of these muscles.