{{Short description|Part of the mandible bone}} {{Infobox anatomy | Name = Angle of the mandible | Latin = angulus mandibulae | Image = Mandibular angle - lateral view1.png | Caption = Human skull. Position of angle of the mandible shown in red. | Image2 = 3300164908 ae4c183fb5 oFlècheAmérindien.jpg | Caption2 = 1870s American male skull. The angle of the mandible is visible just above the white number. | Precursor = | System = | Artery = | Vein = | Nerve = | Lymph = }} __NOTOC__ The '''angle of the mandible''' (a.k.a. '''gonial angle''', '''Masseteric Tuberosity,''' and '''Masseteric Insertion''') is located at the posterior border at the junction of the lower border of the ramus of the mandible.
The angle of the mandible, which may be either inverted or everted, is marked by rough, oblique ridges on each side, for the attachment of the masseter laterally, and the pterygoideus internus (medial pterygoid muscle) medially; the stylomandibular ligament is attached to the angle between these muscles.
The forensic term for the midpoint of the mandibular angle is the '''gonion'''. The gonion is a cephalometric landmark located at the lowest, posterior, and lateral point on the angle.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.redwoods.edu/instruct/agarwin/anth_6_measurements.htm |title= ANTH 6 Forensic Anthropology Measuring Adult Human Remains|access-date=2015-07-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150821072613/http://www.redwoods.edu/instruct/agarwin/anth_6_measurements.htm |archive-date=2015-08-21 }}</ref> This site is at the apex of the maximum curvature of the mandible, where the ascending ramus becomes the body of the mandible.
The mandibular angle has been named as a forensic tool for gender determination, but some studies have called into question whether there is any significant sex difference in humans in the angle.<ref name="pmid23087579">{{cite journal | vauthors = Upadhyay RB, Upadhyay J, Agrawal P, Rao NN | title = Analysis of gonial angle in relation to age, gender, and dentition status by radiological and anthropometric methods | journal = J Forensic Dent Sci | volume = 4 | issue = 1 | pages = 29–33 | date = January 2012 | pmid = 23087579 | pmc = 3470415 | doi = 10.4103/0975-1475.99160 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="pmid17847912">{{cite journal | vauthors = Gungor K, Sagir M, Ozer I | title = Evaluation of the gonial angle in the Anatolian populations: from past to present | journal = Coll Antropol | volume = 31 | issue = 2 | pages = 375–8 | date = June 2007 | pmid = 17847912 | url = https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/43270}}</ref>
Many mammals have a distinctive bony prong, the '''angular process''', immediately above the angle of the mandible.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Angular process - vet-Anatomy - IMAIOS |url=https://www.imaios.com/en/vet-anatomy/anatomical-structure/angular-process-11073891356 |access-date=2023-03-08 |website=www.imaios.com |language=en}}</ref>
==See also== *Ohngren's line
==Additional images== <gallery> Image:Mandibular angle - animation.gif|Position of angle of the mandible (shown in red). Animation. File:Mandibular angle - close-up - animation.gif|Mandible bone. Position of angle shown in red. File:Gray176 mandibular angle.png|Mandible. Outer surface. Side view. (Angle labeled at bottom right.) File:Gray177 mandibular angle.png|Mandible. Inner surface. Side view. (Angle visible at bottom left.) Image:Gray383.png|The Pterygoidei; the zygomatic arch and a portion of the ramus of the mandible have been removed. File:Slide5oooo.JPG|Mandible. Inner surface. Angle of mandible labeled at bottom right. </gallery>
==References== {{Gray's}} {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Angle of the mandible}} * {{NormanAnatomy|lesson4}} * {{SUNYAnatomyLabs|34|st|02|02}} - "Oral Cavity: Bones" * {{cite web|url=http://www.tk.de/rochelexikon/pics/s34256.000-2.html|title=Anatomy diagram: 34256.000-2|work= Roche Lexicon - illustrated navigator|publisher= Elsevier|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130611100749/http://www.tk.de/rochelexikon/pics/s34256.000-2.html|archive-date=2013-06-11}} * {{PSUAnatomy|skel/mandible2}}
{{Facial bones}} {{Portal bar|Anatomy}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Bones of the head and neck
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