ABSTRACT
The alveolar process may be defined as that part of the maxilla and mandible which forms and supports the sockets of the teeth and therefore strictly only develops during their eruption.
Fusion of the medial nasal and maxillary prominences forms the upper jaw and lip and separates the nasal cavity from the oral cavity. The lower jaw and lip are formed from the merging of the lateral mandibular processes. The mandible itself forms from intra-membranous bone lateral to Meckel’s cartilage, from one ossification centre on each side arising in the sixth week in the region of the bifurcation of the inferior alveolar nerve and artery
into mental and incisive branches (Figures 10.1 and 10.2).
