Definition of "maxilla" [‖Max•il•la]

• Anatomy Either of a pair of bones of the human skull fusing in the midline and forming the upper jaw. (noun)
• A homologous bone of the skull in other vertebrates. (noun)
• Either of two laterally moving appendages situated behind the mandibles in insects and most other arthropods. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I'm going to say the small skull behind it is a raccoon skull minus the mandible, but its hard to tell from this angle as the maxilla is shortened due to the angle."
• "The TMJ is the joint between the upper jaw (called the maxilla) and the lower one (mandible) that purposely dislocates itself with every bite to increase your chewing force."
• "Hood: of the maxilla is the galena; q.v.: in Tingitidae the elevated portion of the prothorax, often covering the head."