A study of infraorbital foramen, canal and nerve in adult Egyptians.

The infraorbital foramen, canal and nerve were examined in 30 Egyptian adult skulls and 15 adult human cadavers. The infraorbital foramen was single in 90% of cases and double in 10%. It was oval in 65% of cases and round in the remaining cases. It was directed downward, forward and medially in 60%, downward in 25% and medially in 15% of cases. The distance from the centre of the foramen to the inferior orbital margin was 6.1 +/- 2.4 mm and to the lateral nasal border was 14.7 +/- 2.7 mm. The infraorbital foramen was opposite the 2nd maxillary premolar in 50% of cases, opposite the 1st premolar in 15% and between the 1st and 2nd premolar teeth in 15% of cases. The length of the infraorbital canal was 28.8 +/- 2.9 mm and it showed an infraorbital groove in 60% of cases, a complete roof in 25% and a deficient roof leaving a short bony bridge in 15% of cases. The anterior superior alveolar nerve arose either from the middle third of the infraorbital nerve (in 10 out of 15 cases) or from its anterior third in the remaining 5 cases. The middle superior alveolar nerve was not apparent in 8 cases and it arose from the middle third of the infraorbital nerve in the remaining 7 cases. Radiographic study of the infraorbital foramen and canal on 15 adult dry skulls were also done using 3 different views for each skull. The panoramic view showed to be better than either of the lateral or the postero/anterior view.