Ligament · Jaw

Sphenomandibular ligament

Ligamentum sphenomandibulare

A flat band descending from the spine of the sphenoid, deep in the base of the skull, to the lingula — the small tongue of bone beside the opening on the inner face of the jaw. It runs well away from the jaw joint itself, on its medial side, which is why it is classed as an accessory ligament rather than a capsular one. It is a survival of Meckel's cartilage, the embryonic bar around which the lower jaw formed, and it works as a swinging tether that limits how far the mandible can travel as it drops and slides forward. The inferior alveolar nerve and vessels pass between it and the bone on their way into the jaw.