Anatomy study note · Head and neck

Temporomandibular joint

The synovial joint between the head of the mandible and the mandibular fossa and articular tubercle of the temporal bone, divided by a fibrocartilaginous disc into upper and lower compartments.

Key points

• Synovial with an articular disc (2 compartments).
• Opening: hinge in the lower compartment + gliding forward in the upper.
• Lateral pterygoid = protrusion/opening.
• Dislocates forward over the articular tubercle.
• Joint: from mesenchyme between bone ends.
• Synovial cavity forms in the middle layer.
• TMJ disc: fibrocartilage.
• Synovial membrane: type A (phagocytic) + type B (secretory) cells.

The full note in the atlas also covers

Features · Action · Nerve supply · Histology · Development · Clinical notes

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Written from

• Snell’s Clinical Anatomy by Regions, 10th ed., ch. 12, PDF pp. 1506–1512
• Inderbir Singh’s Human Embryology, ch. 10, PDF pp. 141, 144; ch. 9, PDF p. 123
• BRS Cell Biology & Histology, 7th ed., ch. 7, PDF pp. 117–120, 117, 131

More from the head and neck

• Tensor veli palatini
• Thalamus
• Thyroarytenoid and vocalis
• Thyrohyoid
• Thyroid cartilage
• Thyroid gland
• Tongue
• Trigeminal nerve
• Trochlear nerve
• Veins of the face and scalp
• Ventricles of the brain
• Vertebral and basilar arteries

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