What is Mandible?
{{Infobox bone | Name = Mandible | Latin = mandibula | Image = File:Mandibule.jpg | Caption = The mandible | Image2 = Gray190.png | Caption2 = The [[human skull]], with the '''mandible''' shown in purple at the bottom. | Precursor = 1st [[branchial arch]]<ref>{{EmbryologyUNC|hednk|023}}</ref> | Origins = | Insertions = | Articulations = }} The '''mandible''' is a [[bone]] found in all [[jaw]]ed [[vertebrate]]s. The name comes from [[Latin language|Latin]] ''mandibula''. In [[bony fish]] the lower jaw is made of a number of bones, but these were gradually reduced in evolution. In humans and other [[mammal]]s the mandible is simply the '''jawbone''' or '''dentary''', which is the largest and strongest [[bone]] of the [[face]]. In mammals bones formerly in the lower jaw have become the [[ear ossicles]]. ==References== {{reflist}} {{Biology-stub}} [[Category:Bones of the skull]] [[Category:Head (body part)]]