Читать книгу Feline Dentistry - Jan Bellows - Страница 35

The large bones articulating with the skull that support the lower teeth are the mandibles. Each mandible is composed of a horizontal body and a vertical ramus. The body supports the lower teeth. The ramus has three processes: coronoid, condylar, and angular. The condylar process articulates with the cranium in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) (Figure 1.15a–c).

The mandibles are connected to each other by a strong fibrocartilaginous joint at the mandibular symphysis. The nerves and vascular supply to the mandibular teeth enter the mandibular canal ventrally on the lingual aspect of the angle of the mandible and course rostrally exiting at the caudal, middle, and rostral mental foramina to supply the rostral mandible, chin, lip, buccal gingiva, and mucosa (Figure 1.16a–c). The tongue and some of the muscles of the hyoid apparatus occupy the intermandibular space.