ABSTRACT
Although anatomical variations in abdominal vascular branching are a common phenomenon, alternations inIMA are rather rare. We report a variation found during a dissection of an embalmed male cadaver of CaucasianHellenic origin, where we observed an IMA having as a point of origin the left common iliac artery, 0.4 cm afterthe AA bifurcation in the level between L3 and L4 vertebra. Ignorance of this variant may cause serious implicationsduring vascular and abdominal surgery
ABSTRACT
Running through the infratemporal fossa is the lingual nerve (i.e. the third branch of the posterior trunk of the mandibular nerve). Due to its location, there are various anatomic structures that might entrap and potentially compress the lingual nerve. These anatomical sites of entrapment are: (a) the partially or completely ossified pterygospinous or pterygoalar ligaments; (b) the large lamina of the lateral plate of the pterygoid process; and (c) the medial fibers of the anterior region of the lateral pterygoid muscle. Due to the connection between these nerve and anatomic structures, a contraction of the lateral pterygoid muscle, for example, might cause a compression of the lingual nerve. Any variations in the course of the lingual nerve can be of clinical significance to surgeons and neurologists because of the significant complications that might occur. To name a few of such complications, lingual nerve entrapment can lead to: (a) numbness, hypoesthesia or even anesthesia of the tongue's mucous glands; (b) anesthesia and loss of taste in the anterior two-thirds of the tongue; (c) anesthesia of the lingual gums; and (d) pain related to speech articulation disorder. Dentists should, therefore, be alert to possible signs of neurovascular compression in regions where the lingual nerve is distributed.