Bone · Jaw

Mandible

Mandibula

The mandible is the lower jaw — the only freely moving bone of the skull. It swings at the temporomandibular joint just in front of each ear, and every bite, word and swallow moves it. The masseter grips its angle, the temporalis pulls up on its coronoid process, and the pterygoids work on its inner surface. When those muscles are overworked by clenching or grinding, the ache is felt along the jawline and up into the temple.