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Histological Development of the Fused Mandibular Symphysis in the Pig

The development of the mandibular symphysis in late fetal and postnatal pigs, Sus scrofa dom. (n = 17), was studied as a model for the early fusing symphysis of anthropoid primates, including humans. The suture‐like ligaments occurring in species that retain a mobile symphysis are not present in the pig. Instead, cartilage is the predominant tissue in the mandibular symphysis prior to fusion. In late fetuses the rostrum of the fused Meckel's cartilages forms a minor posterior component of the symphysis whereas the major component is secondary cartilage, developing bilaterally and joined at the midline with mesenchyme. This remnant of Meckel's cartilage likely fuses with the flanking secondary cartilage. The overall composition of pig symphyseal histology in fetal and infant animals varies regionally and individually. Regions where the paired secondary cartilages abut in the midline resemble double growth plates. Chondrogenic growth in width of the symphysis is likely important in early stages, and central proliferation of mesenchyme is the probable source of new chondrocytes. Laterally, the chondrocytes hypertrophy near the bone fronts and are replaced by alveolar bone. Complete synostosis except for a small cartilage remnant had occurred in one 8‐week‐old postnatal specimen and all older specimens. Surprisingly, however, the initial phase of symphyseal fusion, observed in a 5‐week‐old postnatal specimen, involved intramembranous ossification of midline mesenchyme rather than endochondral ossification. Subsequently, fusion progresses rapidly at the anterior and labial aspects of the symphysis, leaving only a small postero‐lingual cartilage pad that persists for at least several months. Anat Rec, 302:1372–1388, 2019. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.