Human Skull Anatomy: Mandible Quiz

Mandible Anatomy

• The temporalis muscle attaches to the coronoid process.
• The mental foramen allows the inferior alveolar nerve and artery to exit the mandibular canal.
• The lateral pterygoid muscle is responsible for protraction of the mandible.
• Elevation is the movement of the mandible that closes the mouth.
• The mental nerve innervates the skin of the lower lip and the front of the chin.

Mandible Structure

• The mandible is commonly known as the jawbone.
• The mental foramen is located near the roots of the lower premolars.
• The digastric muscle attaches medially at the digastric fossa.
• The alveoli are the parts of the mandible that lodge the teeth.
• The mental protuberance forms the shape of the chin in the mandible.

Dental Terminology

• The term for the irreversible loss of tooth structure due to chemical dissolution by acids not of bacterial origin is erosion.
• The diastema is the open space found between the upper incisors.
• The overbite is the term for the extent of the vertical overlap of the maxillary central incisors over the mandibular central incisors.
• The occlusal relationship forms when teeth erupt and meet their antagonist in the opposite arch.
• A working tooth is a tooth that articulates during occlusion with a tooth in the opposing jaw.
• The centric relation is the relationship between the maxillary and mandibular teeth when they approach each other as occurs during chewing or at rest.
• Attrition is the wearing away of the tooth structure by mechanical forces from opposing teeth through contact of its functioning surfaces.
• The overjet is the extent of the horizontal overlap of the maxillary central incisors over the mandibular central incisors.