Alveolar processes

Alveolar process
Left maxilla. Outer surface. (Alveolar process visible at bottom.)
Cartilages of the nose, seen from below. (Alveolar process of maxilla visible at bottom.
Details
Identifiers
Latin	Processus alveolaris
Dorlands /Elsevier	p_34/12667282
TA	A02.1.12.035
FMA	52897
Anatomical terms of bone []

The alveolar process (/ˈælviːələr/) (alveolar bone) is the thickened ridge of bone that contains the tooth sockets (dental alveoli) on bones that hold teeth. In humans, the tooth-bearing bones are the maxillae and the mandible.

On the maxillae, the alveolar process is a ridge on the inferior surface, and on the mandible it is a ridge on the superior surface. It makes up the thickest part of the maxillae.

The alveolar process contains a region of compact bone adjacent to the periodontal ligament (PDL), which is called the lamina dura when viewed on radiographs. It is this part which is attached to the cementum of the roots by the periodontal ligament. It is uniformly radiopaque (or lighter). Integrity of the lamina dura is important when studying radiographs for pathological lesions.

The alveolar bone or process is divided into the alveolar bone proper and the supporting alveolar bone. Microscopically, both the alveolar bone proper and the supporting alveolar bone have the same components: fibers, cells, intercellular substances, nerves, blood vessels, and lymphatics.

The alveolar bone proper is the lining of the tooth socket or alveolus (plural, alveoli). Although the alveolar bone proper is composed of compact bone, it may be called the cribriform plate because it contains numerous holes where Volkmann canals pass from the alveolar bone into the PDL. The alveolar bone proper is also called bundle bone because Sharpey fibers, a part of the fibers of the PDL, are inserted here. Similar to those of the cemental surface, Sharpey fibers in alveolar bone proper are each inserted at 90 degrees, or at a right angle, but are fewer in number, although thicker in diameter than those present in cementum. As in cellular cementum, Sharpey fibers in bone are generally mineralized only partially at their periphery.