Anatomy & Histology · patient case question
In a displaced condylar neck fracture, in which direction is the condylar head typically pulled?
Patient case: Muscles, movement and a fractured condyle
demo: 29-year-old male
chief: Fell from a bicycle onto his chin; his bite now feels wrong.
history: No relevant medical history.
meds: None.
findings: Deviation of the mandible on opening, an anterior open bite and preauricular tenderness. Imaging confirms a fracture of the condylar neck with the condylar head displaced out of the fossa.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Anteromedially
- A. There is no muscular vector drawing the fragment straight up.
- B. Correct. The lateral pterygoid inserts into the pterygoid fovea on the anterior condylar neck and into the articular disc. When the neck fractures, that muscle pulls the proximal fragment anteriorly and medially, which is why displaced condylar fragments are so consistently found in that position.
- C. Straight posterior displacement is not the pattern; the lateral pterygoid pulls forward, and its medial course adds the medial component.
- D. Posterolateral displacement would require a posterior and lateral pull, and no muscle acts on the condyle in that direction.
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