Anatomy of the moose craniomandibular joint (Alces alces, Linnaeus, 1758).

summary The craniomandibular joints (CMJ) were investigated in 10 Swedish mooses (eight cows: five 1-year-old, two two-year-old, and one 7-year-old) together with one bull moose (2 years) and a yearling. The CMJs, situated at a high distance from the occlusal plane of the tooth rows, comprised a temporal component, a disc and a condyle. The temporal component lacked a mandibular fossa as well as articular eminence. The joint surface was oval, almost flat and convex. The condyle had about two-thirds of its length medio-laterally, cylindrical in shape and from a posterior view medially inclined. The articulating surface was divided into a horizontal part located on the superio-anterior condyle, and a vertical part medially situated. The disc was oval in shape and revealed two synovial chambers totally surrounded by a soft tissue lining.