Structural analysis of the mandible by quantitative computed tomography.

The study presents quantitative computed tomography (QCT) as a noninvasive method for analyzing the inner bone structure. Randomly selected mandibles from the osteological collection of the "Drago Perović" Institute of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Zagreb were CT-scanned in five bone areas. Analyzing the densitometry curve in two horizontal levels the relation between the compact and spongy bone and the total amount of bone substance in each area were determined. The smallest bone quantity was found in the area of the neck and angle of the mandible, the areas of most frequent bone fractures. The alveolar part of the bone, apart from the area of the angle, was considerably less thick than the base of the mandible. The compact bone was predominant in all CT-scans.