The condyloid process or condylar process is the
process
A process is a series or set of activities that interact to produce a result; it may occur once-only or be recurrent or periodic.
Things called a process include:
Business and management
*Business process, activities that produce a specific se ...
on the human and other
mammalia
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fu ...
n species'
mandible
In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movable bon ...
s that ends in a
condyle, the mandibular condyle. It is thicker than the
coronoid process of the mandible
In human anatomy, the mandible's coronoid process (from Greek ''korōnē'', denoting something hooked) is a thin, triangular eminence, which is flattened from side to side and varies in shape and size. Its anterior border is convex and is continuou ...
and consists of two portions: the condyle and the constricted portion which supports it, the neck.
Condyle
The most superior part of the mandible, the condyle presents an articular surface for articulation with the
articular disk of the
temporomandibular joint
In anatomy, the temporomandibular joints (TMJ) are the two joints connecting the jawbone to the skull. It is a bilateral synovial articulation between the temporal bone of the skull above and the mandible below; it is from these bones that it ...
;
it is convex from before backward and from side to side, and extends farther on the posterior than on the anterior surface.
Its long axis is directed medialward and slightly backward, and if prolonged to the middle line will meet that of the opposite condyle near the anterior margin of the
foramen magnum
The foramen magnum ( la, great hole) is a large, oval-shaped opening in the occipital bone of the skull. It is one of the several oval or circular openings (foramina) in the base of the skull. The spinal cord, an extension of the medulla oblonga ...
.
At the lateral extremity of the condyle is a small tubercle for the attachment of the
temporomandibular ligament.
The articular surface of the condyle is covered by fibrous tissue, and interfaces with an articular disk (or meniscus) of avascular, non-innervated fibrous tissue (collagen, fibroblasts). When the mouth is closed the meniscus is bordered medially and superiorly by the glenoid fossa of the petrous portion of the temporal bone. When the mouth is opened maximally, the meniscus is distracted anteriorly and inferiorly along the slope of the inferior portion of the temporal bone towards the tubercle, or articular eminence, in order to remain interposed between the condyle and the temporal bone in all jaw positions.
Neck
The neck of the process rises from the posterior of the
ramus mandibulae.
It is flattened from before backward, and strengthened by ridges which descend from the forepart and sides of the condyle.
Its posterior surface is convex; its anterior surface has a depression for the attachment of the
lateral pterygoid muscle
The lateral pterygoid muscle (or external pterygoid muscle) is a muscle of mastication. It has two heads. It lies superior to the medial pterygoid muscle. It is supplied by pterygoid branches of the maxillary artery, and the lateral pterygoid ne ...
.
Fractures
Because the articular disk prevents the mandible from moving posteriorly, the condylar neck is often subject to fracturing when the jaw suffers a blow.
Additional images
References
External links
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* - "Osteology of the Skull: Mandible of Intact Skull"
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Bones of the head and neck