An exhausted medical student decided to brush up on gross anatomy by attending a lecture given by an old and revered visiting professor. After 45 minutes the lecture began to bore him, and his mind began to wander. He could not forget the attractive brunette nurse in the surgical clinic whom he had dated the previous evening. After 5 more minutes he found he just could not keep his eyes open. When would this lecture end? Just then, he involuntarily opened his mouth wide and yawned. To his great consternation he could not close his mouth. His jaw was stuck in the open position. What is your diagnosis?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Answer is The student had dislocated his temporomandibular joints on both sides. When he yawned, his lateral pterygoid muscles reflexly contracted forcibly and pulled the head of the mandible and the articular disc forward over the summit of the articular tubercle in each joint. Reduction is easily performed by pressing gloved thumbs downward and backward on the last molar teeth. The lateral pterygoid, the temporalis, and the masseter muscle tension is overcome and the head of the mandible snaps back over the articular tubercle to assume its normal anatomical position.

An Exhausted Medical Student Decided to Brush Up on Gross