Alligator Articular

The articular is an endochondral element that forms the mandibular portion of the jaw joint in Alligator and other reptiles. The saddle-shaped articular fossa receives the quadrate to form the jaw joint. The rostroventral portion of the element tapers to a small convex condyle which is the growth plate for Meckel's cartilage. Caudal to the articular fossa is the small pneumatic foramen Aereum which transmits an air space between the articular and quadrate. The deep trough on the element's medial surface is for the attachment of m. pterygoideus dorsalis. The long, broad retroarticular process is the attachment for m. depressor mandibulae.