It was described as being divided into three lobes, the anterior, intermediate, and posterior, “according to the structure of the lobar envelopes, the formation of ligaments, and the source of the nutritional vessels”.

It is a triangular mass with one vertex at the buccinators, one at the levator labii superioris alaeque nasi, and one at the orbicularis oris.

The posterior lobe of the buccal fat pad runs from the infraorbital fissure and temporal muscle to the upper rim of the mandible and back to the mandibular ramus.

Some people describe the buccal fat pad’s primary function in relation to chewing and suckling, especially in infants.

This theory derives some support from the loss of volume to the intermediate lobe, which would be most directly involved in chewing and sucking, from infancy to adulthood.