Mandible
lower jaw bone
The mandible is a bone found in all jawed vertebrates. The name comes from Latin mandibula.
| Mandible | |
|---|---|
 The mandible | |
 The human skull, with the mandible shown in purple at the bottom. | |
| Details | |
| Precursor | 1st branchial arch[1] |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | mandibula |
| MeSH | D008334 |
| Anatomical terms of bone | |
In bony fish the lower jaw is made of a number of bones, but these were gradually reduced in evolution.
In humans and other mammals the mandible is simply the jawbone or dentary, which is the largest and strongest bone of the face.
In mammals bones formerly in the lower jaw have become the ear ossicles.
References
change- ↑ hednk-023—Embryo Images at University of North Carolina
