Compensatory mechanisms in skull construction as a result of mandibular prognathic growth

Mandibular prognathism is a gnathic defect that causes severe dysfunction of the stomatognathic system.

The aim of the study was to describe the compensatory mechanisms in the anatomical structure of the historical skull of a woman with severe mandibular prognathism, from the ‘Kuronia’ collection from the former 19th-century cemeteries of the Evangelical-Reformed Parish and the Evangelical-Augsburg Parish of St. Mary Magdalene in Wrocław.

The compensatory changes in the anatomical structure of the skull, mainly affecting the alveolar part of the mandible and the maxillary alveolar processes, were probably aimed at achieving functionally efficient interdental contacts in the upper and lower arches. Due to edentulism, it was not possible to describe the exact position of the teeth. However, from the preserved alveolar bone structures it was possible to approximate the axes of their inclination. The analysis of the defects of the stomatognathic system in historical populations can enrich the study of their biological condition, constituting a rich source of information on their lifestyle and nutrition.