Human Jaw Skeleton

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The lower jaw, or mandible, begins life as two distinct bones that eventually fuse in the second year to form a single bone at the midline. The central part of each side is the body of the mandible, which features an upper portion known as the alveolar margin - this is similar to the alveolar margins found on the maxillae. A distinctive characteristic of the human skull is the chin, which protrudes downward from the lower center of the body in the midline. On either side of the chin, there is a mental foramen, an opening that serves as a passageway for the mandibular nerve's mental branch, a division of the fifth cranial nerve.