Corpus: Jaw

In medicine, the term jaw refers to the two bones of the skull that hold the teeth.

There are two halves of the jaw:

• Upper jaw (maxilla)
• Lower jaw (mandible)

The lower jaw is hinged to the rest of the skull via the temporomandibular joint (articulatio temporomandibularis). The masticatory muscles enable the lower jaw to close the mouth, open the mouth and chew.

The lower jaw is connected to the skull by the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). The muscles responsible for chewing allow the lower jaw to open and close the mouth, as well as perform chewing movements.

In certain conditions, mouth opening can become restricted, a condition commonly known as lockjaw.