  We construct an explicit model to describe fermions confined on a four
dimensional brane embedded in a five dimensional anti-de Sitter spacetime. We
extend previous works to accommodate massive bound states on the brane and
exhibit the transverse structure of the fermionic fields. We estimate
analytically and calculate numerically the fermion mass spectrum on the brane,
which we show to be discrete. The confinement life-time of the bound states is
evaluated, and it is shown that existing constraints can be made compatible
with the existence of massive fermions trapped on the brane for durations much
longer than the age of the Universe.
