Chapter 2: Bones of the head and face

Dental prognathism

(buck teeth) oblique insertion of the teeth.

foramen magnum

A large opening at the base of the skull through which the brain connects to the spinal cord.

mandibular fossa

A small oval depression or socket on the underside of the temporal bone

frontal eminences

Rounded prominences on either side of the median line and a little inferior to the center of the frontal bone. A warm-color area of the face.

mandibular condyle

The rounded eminence at the articulating posterior process of the ramus.

supraorbital margin

The superior rim of the eye socket located on the frontal bone.

angle of the mandible

a bony angle formed by the junction of the posterior edge of the ramus of the mandible and the inferior surface of the body of the mandible; marks widest part of lower 1/3 of face.

alveolar process

a ridge that forms the borders of the upper and lower jaws and contains the sockets of the teeth

mental eminence

a triangular projection on the inferior portion of the anterior mandible

Glabella

an elevation located between the superciliary arches on the inferior part of the frontal bone immediately above the root of the nose.

zygomatic arch

cheek bone

external auditory meatus

ear canal

palatine process

forms the anterior portion of the hard palate (roof) of the mouth also forms parts of the nasal cavity and eye orbits

Bimandibular width

measured by a straight line between the two angles of the mandible and is used in photographic analysis for restoration.

mastoid process

round projection on the temporal bone behind the ear

incisive fossa

the area between the mental eminence and the inferior incisor teeth

frontal process of maxilla

the ascending part of the upper jaw which gradually protrudes as it rises beside the nasal bone to meet the frontal bone; the ascending process of the upper jaw.

superciliary arch

the inferior part of the forehead just superior to the median ends of the eyebrows

nasal cavity

the orifice in the bony face bounded by the margins of the nasal bones and the maxilla

parietal eminence

the rounded peak of the external convexity of the parietal bones; determines the widest part of the cranium

squama

thin superior part of the temporal bone

coronoid process

thin, flattened process projecting from the anterior portion of the upper border of the ramus

zygomatic process

where the temporal bone joins the zygomatic bone