temporomandibular joint (TMJ) [L, tempora + mandere, to chew, jungere, to join] , one of a pair of joints connecting the mandible of the jaw to the temporal bone of the skull. It is a combined hinge and gliding joint, formed by the anterior parts of the mandibular fossae of the temporal bone, the articular eminences, the condyles of the mandible, and five ligaments. The TMJ is the only joint in the body in which movement of one joint is always synchronous with movement of the other joint.
