The angle of the mandible (gonion) is where the lower border of the body meets the posterior border of the ramus. Its outer surface gives attachment to the masseter and its inner surface to the medial pterygoid, and the stylomandibular ligament attaches near it.
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| Ossification | Formed in membrane as part of the mandible, which begins to ossify at about the sixth fetal week; the angle becomes less obtuse as the teeth erupt and the ramus grows. |
The angle is one of the commonest sites of mandibular fracture, especially in assaults, and the presence of an impacted third molar weakens it. It is palpable just below the earlobe and is a landmark for the facial nerve, parotid gland and inferior alveolar nerve block. The angle is more obtuse in infants and edentulous older adults.
Follow the lower border of the jaw backward from the chin until it turns upward toward the ear. The corner where the lower border meets the back edge of the ramus, just below and in front of the ear lobe, is the angle of the mandible. Clenching the teeth makes masseter bulge just in front of it.
A common fracture from a blow to the side of the jaw, especially with an unerupted or impacted third molar, causing malocclusion and lower lip numbness if the inferior alveolar nerve is injured.
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