attachment apparatus

attachment apparatus,

the various tissues that surround and support the teeth, including the cementum, the periodontal ligament, and the alveolar process. See also masticatory system.

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apparatus (ap´rat´us),

n 1. an arrangement of a number of parts that act together to perform some special function.
2. a device.

apparatus, attachment,

n an older term for the tissues that invest and support the teeth for function and include gingivae, cementum of the tooth, periodontal ligament, and alveolar bone. Now commonly called
periodontium.

apparatus, masticating,

n an older term for the structures involved in chewing (i.e., the teeth, mandibular musculature, mandible and its temporomandibular joints, accessory mandibular and facial musculature, and tongue), which are controlled by an exquisitely functioning neuromuscular mechanism. See also system, stomatognathic.