The symphysis of the external surface of the

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 bone ...

divides below and encloses a triangular eminence, the mental protuberance, the base of which is depressed in the center but raised on either side to form the ''

mental tubercle The mandibular symphysis In human anatomy, the facial skeleton of the skull the external surface of the mandible is marked in the median line by a faint ridge, indicating the mandibular symphysis (Latin: ''symphysis menti'') or line of junction wh ...

''. The size and shape of the bones making up this structure are responsible for the size and shape of a person's chin. Synonyms of ''mental protuberance'' include ''mental process'' and ''protuberantia mentalis.'' ''Mental'' in this sense derives from Latin ''mentum'' (chin), not ''mens'' (mind), source of the more common meaning of ''mental''.

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* Bones of the head and neck {{musculoskeletal-stub