Alveolar process

Bone: Alveolar process
Left maxilla. Outer surface. (Alveolar process visible at bottom.)
Cartilages of the nose, seen from below. (Alveolar process of maxilla visible at bottom.
Latin	processus alveolaris
Gray's	subject #38 161

The alveolar process is the thickened ridge of bone that contains the tooth sockets on bones that bear teeth. It is also referred to as the alveolar bone. In humans, the tooth-bearing bones are the maxilla and the mandible. The mineral content of alveolar bone is mostly hydroxyapatite, which is also found in enamel as the main inorganic substance.

On the maxilla, the alveolar process is a ridge on the inferior surface, and on the mandible it is a ridge on the superior surface. It makes up the thickest part of the maxilla.

The alveolar process contains a region of compact bone adjacent to the periodontal ligament called lamina dura. It is this part which is attached to the cementum of the roots by the periodontal ligament.

The buccinator muscle attaches to the alveolar processes of both the maxilla and mandible.

Additional images

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  This X-ray film reveals some bone loss on the right side of the mandible. The associated teeth exhibit poor crown-to-root ratios and may be subject to secondary occlusal trauma.

See also

• Dental alveolus

References

• Cate, A.R. Ten. Oral Histology: development, structure, and function. 5th ed. 1998. ISBN 0-8151-2952-1.
• Gray, Henry. Anatomy of the Human Body. (1918). ISBN 1-58734-102-6
• "Process, alveolar." Stedman's Medical Dictionary, 27th ed. (2000). ISBN 0-683-40007-X

External links

• alveolar+process at eMedicine Dictionary
• Photo of model at Waynesburg College skeleton/alveolarprocess
• Roche Lexicon - illustrated navigator, at Elsevier 34256.000-1
• Diagram at case.edu

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