adj.: pertaining to the area of the face around the upper jaw.
If ever you've gotten your upper teeth knocked out, you know what it's like to have your maxillofacial area bashed in.
The
maxillae are two of the bones of the
skull. They fuse together at the midline (the imaginary line bisecting the face into left and right halves). The maxillar area corresponds to what is commonly thought of as the upper jaw. (The
mandible is the movable, lower jawbone.) The upper front teeth have their roots planted in the maxillae (or
maxillas, as the plural is also known.)