temporal mandibular joint
(noun)
A joint of the jaw that connects it to the temporal bones of the skull.
Examples of temporal mandibular joint in the following topics:
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Structure, Type, and Location of Cartilage
- Hyaline cartilage is found on many joint surfaces.
- Fibrocartilage is found in the pubic symphysis, the annulus fibrosus of intervertebral discs, menisci, and the temporal mandibular joint.
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Dislocated Mandible
- A dislocated mandible or jaw occurs at the temporomandibular joint: the mandibular condyles and the temporal bone fail to align correctly.
- Dislocations occur when two bones that originally met at a joint detach.
- The joint involved in jaw dislocation is the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).
- This joint is located where the mandibular condyles and the temporal bone meet.
- This dislocation will push the jaw back, affecting the alignment of the mandibular condyle and mastoid.
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Trigeminal (V) Nerve
- It is derived from the fact that each nerve, one on each side of the pons, has three major branches: the ophthalmic nerve (V1 in the illustration below), the maxillary nerve (V2), and the mandibular nerve (V3) .
- The mandibular nerve has both sensory and motor functions.
- The motor component of the mandibular division (V3) of the trigeminal nerve controls the movement of eight muscles, including the four muscles of mastication: the masseter, the temporal, and the medial and lateral pterygoids.
- The ophthalmic nerve branch (V1) innervates the bright red area, the maxillary nerve branch (V2) innervates the light red area, and the mandibular nerve branch (V3) innervates the yellow area.
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Cartilaginous Joints: Synchodroses
- Cartilaginous joints allow more movement between bones than a fibrous joint but less than the highly mobile synovial joint.
- The joint between the manubrium and the sternum is an example of a cartilaginous joint.
- A synchondrosis joint is the first sternocostal joint (where the first rib meets the sternum).
- The rest of the sternocostal joints are synovial plane joints.
- Such joints are found between the epiphyses and diaphyses of long bones, between the occipital and the sphenoid bones, and during the early years of life, between the petrous portion of the temporal and the jugular process of the occipital bone.
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Sutures
- A suture is a type of fibrous joint (or synarthrosis) that only occurs in the skull (or cranium).
- A suture is a type of fibrous joint (or synarthrosis) that only occurs in the skull.
- The bones are bound together by Sharpey’s fibers, a matrix of connective tissue which provide a firm joint.
- The joint between the mandible and the cranium, known as the temporomandibular joint, forms the only non-sutured joint in the skull.
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Cartilaginous Joints: Symphyses
- A symphysis is a secondary cartilaginous joint that is permanent and slightly movable.
- A symphysis, a type of secondary cartilaginous joint, is a fibrocartilaginous fusion between two bones.
- It is an amphiarthrosis (slightly movable) joint, and an area where two parts or structures grow together.
- Mobility of this joint increases for women at the time of childbirth.
- The external surface of the mandible is marked in the median line by a faint ridge, indicating the symphysis menti, mandibular symphysis, or line of junction.
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Facial Bones
- They articulate with the frontal, temporal, maxilla, and sphenoid bones.
- The joint between the mandible and the temporal bones of the neurocranium, known as the temporomandibular joint, forms the only non-sutured joint in the skull.
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General Features and Functions of the Skull
- The skull is formed of several bones which, with the exception of the mandible, are joined together by sutures—synarthrodial (immovable) joints.
- The neurocranium is formed from the occipital bone, two temporal bones, two parietal bones, the sphenoid, ethmoid and frontal bones; they are all joined together with sutures.
- The viscerocranium bones form the anterior and lower regions of the skull and include the mandible, which attaches through the only truly motile joint found in the skull.
- Neurocranium consists of 8 parts: frontal, sphenoid, ethmoid, occipital, 2 temporal, and 2 parietal bones.
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Sutures
- A suture is a type of fibrous joint (synarthrosis) bound by Sharpey's fibers that only occurs in the skull (cranium).
- A suture is a type of fibrous joint which only occurs in the cranium, where it holds bony plates together.
- These joints are synarthroses (immovable joints).
- The joint between the mandible and the cranium, the temporomandibular joint, forms the only non-sutured joint in the skull.
- When the connective tissue between the adjacent bones is reduced to a narrow layer, these fibrous joints are now called sutures.
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Chewing Muscles
- The lower jaw, or mandible, connects to the temporal bone of the skull via the temporomandibular joint, which allows movement in all planes.
- Temporalis - A broad muscle that fans out to cover much of the temporal bone on the side of the skull.