browridge

anatomy
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Also known as: supraorbital ridge, supraorbital torus
Also called:
supraorbital torus
Related Topics:
cranium

browridge, bony ridge over the eye sockets (orbits). Browridges are massive in gorillas and chimpanzees and are also well developed in extinct hominids. They are more prominent in males than in females.

Browridges may have served as buttresses against the stress exerted by jaw muscles or as protection for the eyes. In modern man browridges are greatly reduced.