Meckel's cartilage

Meckel's cartilage
Head and neck of a human embryo eighteen weeks old, with Meckel’s cartilage and hyoid bar exposed.
Mandible of human embryo 95 mm. long. Inner aspect. Nuclei of cartilage stippled.
Gray's	subject #13 66
Precursor	first branchial arch
Gives rise to	incus, malleus

It has been suggested that Meckelian cartilage be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

The cartilaginous bar of the mandibular arch is formed by what are known as Meckel’s cartilages (right and left) ; above this the incus and malleus are developed.

The dorsal end of each cartilage is connected with the ear-capsule and is ossified to form the malleus; the ventral ends meet each other in the region of the symphysis menti, and are usually regarded as undergoing ossification to form that portion of the mandible which contains the incisor teeth.

The intervening part of the cartilage disappears; the portion immediately adjacent to the malleus is replaced by fibrous membrane, which constitutes the sphenomandibular ligament, while from the connective tissue covering the remainder of the cartilage the greater part of the mandible is ossified.

Johann Friedrich Meckel, the Younger discovered this cartilage in 1820.

Additional images

Vertical section of the mandible of an early human fetus. X 25.

External links

• palaeos.com
• synd/2049 at Who Named It?

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated.

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