56 PRACTICAL ANATOMY. 



tubercles is a shallow depression, the digastric fossa, for 

 the attachment of the anterior belly of the digastric. 

 Below the internal oblique line, posteriorly, is a broad, 

 shallow depression, the submaxillary fossa, which lodges 

 the submaxillary gland. The inferior border is strong, 

 thick, and rounded. Its anterior portion, between the 

 mental foramina, is strongly everted. Near its junction 

 with the ramus a shallow groove is frequently seen, for 

 the passage of the facial artery. The superior border 



FIG. 26. LEFT HALF OF INFERIOR MAXILLARY BONE, INNER SURFACE. 



constitutes the alveolar process, which is narrower in 

 front than behind, and presents sixteen sockets for the 

 reception of the teeth. The alveoli for the incisor teeth 

 are conical pits, compressed laterally. They are about 

 half an inch in depth, their apices recede from the 

 anterior surface of the bone, and their axes are in- 

 clined slightly outward. The incisor teeth readily 

 drop out of their sockets after the removal of the soft 

 structures. The canine alveoli are the deepest sockets 

 of the lower jaw ; their axes are placed vertically ; they 

 are conical pits, laterally slightly compressed, and oval 

 on section ; the long axis of the oval is directed outward, 



