Three-Dimensional Anatomic Analysis of the Lingula and Mandibular Foramen

Abstract

The MF is an important anatomic landmark for ramus surgery and IANB. When applied to ramus operations and IANB, the anatomic data provided by this study may help surgeons gain more understanding of nerve position during surgery.

The mandibular plane: a stable reference to localize the mandibular foramen, even during growth

“…No significant differences between the measurements on the right and left were observed as in other studies [14,19,22,26,29]. Facial symmetry was respected.…”

“…Previous attempts to determine the position of the MF relative to the occlusal plane have mainly been based on dry mandibles [7,15,16] or on 2D radiographs which were deformed (panoramic radiographs [6,[11][12][13][14][17][18][19]) and/or had a high level of anatomical superimposition (lateral cephalometric radiographs [20,21]). Nowadays, the development of 3D computer software combined with computed tomography (CT) allows indisputable data on the mandibular foramen location to be produced [10,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. The use of clinical reference landmarks should provide accurate measurements and convenient clinical transposition [10].…”

Three-Dimensional Analysis of Mandibular Foramen Location: A Cone Beam Computed Tomography Study

“…This result clearly showed that MF is positioned nearly 1.58 mm behind the midpoint of the ramus horizontally 4.27 mm above the midpoint vertically. Thangaveu et al [6] and Findik et al [2] mentioned similar position for MF.…”

“…Researchers have been studied to investigate the position of MF using dry mandibles and radiographic techniques such as panoramic, lateral oblique, cephalometric radiography and CT [1,3,9,10] Thanks to recent developments in CBCT technology, MF position investigation by using a 3-dimentional plane and measurement points has become easier [4]. CBCT provides an image produced has minimal unequal magnification and distortion and produces more reliable and accurate data with low radiation dose [2]. In the present study, the position of MF in 3-dimensions was measured relative to the structural landmarks in the oral cavity which can easily be referred for surgical procedures.…”

“…These anatomical landmarks that are related with mandible are significant and can be damaged during oral and maxillofacial surgical procedures like mandibular osteotomies, orthognathic surgeries, mandibular trauma managements, surgeries of benign and malignant lesions, implant surgeries, preprosthetic surgeries and also nerve damage is possible during inferior mandibular nerve block [2]. Mandibular Foramen (MF) is located on the medial aspect of the ramus which is important for being related directly to inferior alveolar nerve [1].…”