The mandible is the only moveable bone of the skull, forming the lower jaw. It articulates with the temporal bone at the temporomandibular joint and provides attachment for the muscles of mastication and tongue.
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| Ossification | Membranous ossification from centres in Meckel cartilage of the first branchial arch at 6 weeks of fetal development. The mandible is the last bone to ossify completely (up to age 25 for third molar regions). |
The mandible is the most commonly fractured facial bone overall, with fractures occurring at the condyle (most common site), angle, parasymphysis, and body. The inferior alveolar nerve runs through the mandibular canal and can be injured in condylar and body fractures, producing ipsilateral lower lip numbness. The third molar roots are intimately related to the inferior alveolar canal, making wisdom tooth extraction the most common cause of inferior alveolar nerve injury. Bilateral condylar fractures produce anterior open bite from bilateral shortening of the mandibular rami.
The mandible commonly fractures at the condylar neck, angle, and parasymphysis, often at two sites at once because it forms a ring with the skull; it causes malocclusion, pain on biting, and lower lip numbness.
Wide mouth opening can displace the mandibular condyle anterior to the articular eminence, locking the jaw open until it is reduced by downward and backward pressure.
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