Meckel's cartilage

noun

Meck·​el's cartilage ˈmek-əlz- 

: the cartilaginous bar of the embryonic mandibular arch of which the distal end ossifies to form the malleus and most of the rest disappears in development, with the part adjacent to the malleus being replaced by fibrous membrane comprising the sphenomandibular ligament and the connective tissue covering most of the remaining part ossifying to form much of the mandible