Retromolar trigone

Last revised by Francis Deng ◉ on 8 Dec 2020

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Knipe H, Deng F, El-Feky M, et al. Retromolar trigone. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 25 Sep 2023) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-37451

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-37451

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/37451

rID:

37451

Article created:

9 Jun 2015, Henry Knipe ◉ ◈

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created Henry Knipe had no recorded disclosures.

View Henry Knipe's current disclosures

Last revised:

8 Dec 2020, Francis Deng ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Francis Deng had no recorded disclosures.

View Francis Deng's current disclosures

Revisions:

8 times, by 5 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Systems:

Head & Neck

Sections:

Anatomy

Tags:

cases

Synonyms:

Retromolar fossa

The retromolar trigone, sometimes called the retromolar fossa, is an oral cavity subsite that consists of the mucosa posterior to the last mandibular molar. It is roughly triangular shaped and extends superiorly towards the maxilla along the anterior surface of the mandible.

Gross anatomy

Attachments

The upper parts of the triangle attach the temporalis muscle ⁴. Specifically, the deeper fibers attach to the upper two-thirds of the medial border and the superficial fibers attach to the upper one-third of the lateral border ⁶.

Deep to the mucosa of the triangle is the pterygomandibular raphe ⁵.

Relations and/or boundaries

The borders of the retromolar trigone are as follows ⁴:

medially: temporal crest of the mandible (a ridge that runs along the anteromedial face of the coronoid process and ramus to which the temporalis muscle attaches)
laterally: anterior border of the ramus of the mandible
basally: posterior to the socket for the third molar