Mandible

This article is about the human bone. For the arthropod mandibles, see mandible (arthropod).

*Bone:*

Mandible. Outer surface. Side view

Mandible. Inner surface. Side view
Latin	mandibula
	subject #44 172
Precursor	1st branchial arch^[1]
MeSH	Mandible

The mandible (from Latin mandibūla, "jawbone") or inferior maxillary bone is, together with the maxilla, the largest and strongest bone of the face . It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place.

Components

The mandible consists of:

a curved, horizontal portion, the body. (See body of mandible).
two perpendicular portions, the rami, which unite with the ends of the body nearly at right angles. (See ramus mandibulae)
Alveolar process, the tooth bearing area of the mandible (upper part of the body of the mandible)
Condyle, superior (upper) and posterior projection from the ramus, which makes the temporomandibular joint with the temporal bone
Coronoid process, superior and anterior projection from the ramus. This provides attachment to the temporalis muscle

Foramens

Mandibular foramen, paired, in the inner (medial) aspect of the mandible, superior to the mandibular angle in the middle of the ramus.
Mental foramen, paired, lateral to the mental protuberance on the body of mandible.

Nerves

Inferior alveolar nerve, branch of the mandibular division of Trigeminal (V) nerve, enters the mandibular foramen and runs forward in the mandibular canal, supplying sensation to the teeth. At the mental foramen the nerve divides into two terminal branches: incisive and mental nerves. The incisive nerve runs forward in the mandible and supplies the anterior teeth. The mental nerve exits the mental foramen and supplies sensation to the lower lip.

Articulations

The mandible articulates with the two temporal bones at the temporomandibular joints.

Injuries

Mandibular fractures are often accompanied by a 'twin fracture' on the contralateral (opposite) side.

The mandible may be dislocated anteriorly (to the front) and inferiorly (downwards) but very rarely posteriorly (backwards).

Additional images

Front	Mandible	Gray181.png	Facial bones
Lateral	Dorsal	Side view of the skull.	The skull from the front.
The veins of the neck, viewed from in front.

References

1. ^ Embryology at UNC hednk-023

External links

SUNY Labs 34:st-0203 - "Oral Cavity: Bones"
Diagram at uni-mainz.de

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.

• • [ e] Bones of head and neck: the face
maxilla	Body of maxilla - Maxillary sinus - surfaces of body Anterior (Incisive fossa, Canine fossa, Infraorbital foramen, Anterior nasal spine) - Infratemporal (Alveolar canals, Maxillary tuberosity) - Orbital (Infraorbital groove, Infraorbital canal) - Nasal (Pterygopalatine canal) - processes Zygomatic process - Frontal process (Agger nasi, Anterior lacrimal crest) - Alveolar process - Palatine process (Incisive foramen, Incisive canals, Foramina of Scarpa, Premaxilla, Anterior nasal spine)
lacrimal	Posterior lacrimal crest - Lacrimal groove
zygomatic	Orbital process, Zygomaticofacial foramen - Zygomaticotemporal foramen - Zygomaticorbital foramina
palatine	Pterygopalatine fossa - Pterygoid fossa - Horizontal plate (Posterior nasal spine) - Perpendicular plate (Pterygopalatine canal, Sphenopalatine foramen, Pyramidal process) processes (Orbital - Sphenoidal)
mandible	body (Symphysis menti, Mental protuberance, Mental foramen, Mylohyoid line) - Ramus (Mandibular foramen, Mylohyoid groove, Mandibular canal, Angle, Coronoid process, Condyloid process, Mandibular notch)
others	nasal bone - inferior nasal conchae (ethmoidal process, maxillary process) - vomer

In arthropods, the mandible is either of a pair of arthropod mouthparts used for biting, cutting and holding food. Mandibles are often simply referred to as jaws. The arthropods with mandibles form the clade Mandibulata
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Latin}}}
Official status
Official language of: Vatican City
Used for official purposes, but not spoken in everyday speech
Regulated by: Opus Fundatum Latinitas
Roman Catholic Church
Language codes
ISO 639-1: la
ISO 639-2: lat
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In the development of vertebrate animals, the pharyngeal arches (also called branchial arches or gill arches in fish) develop during the fourth and fifth week in utero
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Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is a huge controlled vocabulary (or metadata system) for the purpose of indexing journal articles and books in the life sciences. Created and updated by the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), it is used by the MEDLINE/PubMed
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The maxilla (plural: maxillae) is a fusion of two bones along the palatal fissure that form the upper jaw. This is similar to the mandible, which is also a fusion of two halves at the mental symphysis.
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Bones are rigid organs that form part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They function to move, support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals.
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The face is the front part of the head, in humans from the forehead to chin including the hair, forehead, eyebrow, eyes, nose, cheeks, mouth, lips, philtrum, teeth, skin, and chin. The face is used for expression, appearance and identity amongst others.
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jaw is either of the two opposable structures forming, or near the entrance to, the mouth.

The term jaws is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth and serving to open and close it.
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Teeth (singular, tooth) are structures found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates that are used to tear, scrape, and chew food. Some animals, particularly carnivores, also use teeth for hunting or defense. The roots of teeth are covered by gums.
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The body of the mandible is curved somewhat like a horseshoe and has two surfaces and two borders.

Surfaces

External surface

The external surface is marked in the median line by a faint ridge, indicating the symphysis or line of junction of the two pieces of
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The ramus of the mandible (perpendicular portion) is quadrilateral in shape, and has two surfaces, four borders, and two processes.

Surfaces

The lateral surface is flat and marked by oblique ridges at its lower part; it gives attachment throughout nearly the whole
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Temporomandibular joint is the jaw joint and is frequently referred to as TMJ. There are two TMJs, one on either side, working in unison. The name is derived from the two bones which form the joint: the upper temporal bone
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The temporal bones are situated at the sides and base of the skull.

The temporal bone supports that part of the face known as the temple.

Parts

Each consists of five parts:

Squama temporalis
Mastoid portion
Petrous portion
Tympanic part

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The temporalis muscle is one of the muscles of mastication.

Structure

It arises from the temporal fossa and the deep part of temporal fascia. It passes medial to the zygomatic arch and inserts onto the coronoid process of the mandible.
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The inferior alveolar nerve (sometimes called the inferior dental nerve) is a branch of the mandibular nerve, which is itself the third branch (V3) of the fifth cranial nerve, the trigeminal nerve (cranial nerve V).
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The temporal bones are situated at the sides and base of the skull.

The temporal bone supports that part of the face known as the temple.

Parts

Each consists of five parts:

Squama temporalis
Mastoid portion
Petrous portion
Tympanic part

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In sciences dealing with the anatomy of animals, precise anatomical terms of location are necessary for a variety of reasons. Non-scientists often wonder why zoological and human anatomists use complex terminology to describe locations on a body, when common terms like "up",
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At birth [Fig. 7] the body of the bone is a mere shell, containing the sockets of the two incisor, the canine, and the two deciduous molar teeth, imperfectly partitioned off from one another.
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The mandible is ossified in the fibrous membrane covering the outer surfaces of Meckel's cartilages.

These cartilages form the cartilaginous bar of the mandibular arch (see p. 66), and are two in number, a right and a left.
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The Mandibular Decubitus Syndrome is a group of disorders of the masticatory apparatus such as the loss of balance of the jaw and the facial asymmetry due to the constant use, during sleep, of positions that can represent an obstacle to the natural movements of the jaw.
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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public, coeducational, research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Also known as The University of North Carolina, Carolina, North Carolina, or simply UNC
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The State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn, better known as SUNY Downstate Medical Center, is an academic medical center and is the only one of its kind in the Borough of Brooklyn in New York City.
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Public domain comprises the body of knowledge and innovation (especially creative works such as writing, art, music, and inventions) in relation to which no person or other legal entity can establish or maintain proprietary interests within a particular legal jurisdiction.
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Henry Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body (or Gray's Anatomy as it has commonly been shortened) is an English-language human anatomy textbook widely regarded as a classic work on the subject.
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Head and neck anatomy focuses on the structures of the head and neck of the human body, including the brain, bones, muscles, blood vessels, nerves, glands, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, and throat.
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