Assessment of position of foramen mandibulae in recent adult population.

Accurate knowledge about the morphology and topography of foramen mandibulae is of great practical importance in anaesthesia of inferior alveolar nerve. A certain number of skeletotopical relations may be used as valuable orientation points. Because of the controversies about these marking points it has been decided to perform measurements on a large sample of macerated mandibulae that are significant to location and shape of foramen mandibulae (FM) and lingula in relation to the surrounding orientation points. The measurements were taken in antero-posterior and infra-superior directions. In AP direction the distance between PRR and FM was measured; the obtained sample average was 15.03 at variability of Qv 12.18%; ARR-FM distance had the average value of 17.52 at Qv of 50%; the CT-FM distance had the average of 14.81 at Qv of 8.17%. In infra-superior direction the following measurements were made: AM-FM with the average of 21.10 at Qv of 13.98%; IM-IF with the average of 25.19 at Qv of 16.18%; PCO-FM with the average of 44.17 at Qv of 10.48%; and PCR-FM with the average of 42.79 at Qv of 10.87%. Extreme heterogeneity was noticed in the measurements of lingula. In the antero-posterior plane the FM is located in the middle of the CT-PRR distance, i.e., in measurements in which the external oblique line was used as anterior point, FM was located at the juncture of two anterior thirds and the posterior third of ramus mandibulae. In infra-superior direction the lowest FM point was closer to AM than to IM, indicating a somewhat lower position of FM. The mean value of FM depth was 4.31 and the most commonly found shape of the foramen was that of the elongated type (45%). The lingula was prominent, although unevenly, in 51% of study samples.