The |mandible| (lower jawbone) is the only movable bone in the |skull|. It mounts the |teeth| and provides structure and protective support for the oral cavity. The |mandible| is articulated in ball-and-socket fashion at the condylar ~process~. The caput (head) of this ~process~ fits into the |mandibular fossa| of the |temporal bone|, just in front of the |external acoustic meatus|, and nestled neatly under and slightly to the back of the |articular tubercle| of the zygomatic ~process~. To the front of this atriculation is the protrusion called the |coronoid process|, which fits snugly beneath the zygomatic arch when the |mouth| is closed. A curved depression lies between the caput and the |coronoid process| on this upper section of the |mandible|. The mandibular angles are the lower, back corners of the jawbone, while the |ramus| is the section on each side of the |mandible| between the caput of the condylar ~process~ and the angle. In the front of the |mandible| are the mental ~tubercles~ and protuberances which define the chin. On each side of the chin is an opening called a |mental foramen|.
