Accessory neurovascular foramina on the lingual surface of mandible: incidence, topography, and clinical implications.

CONTEXT: It was suggested that the accessory neurovascular foramina of the mandible might be of significance in relation to the effectiveness of local anesthesia following the routine inferior alveolar nerve block. AIMS: To investigate the incidence of neurovascular foramina over the lingual surface of the mandible in South Indian population. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: The study was conducted at the department of anatomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 67 human adult dry mandibles, the exact ages and sexes of which were not known. The location and number of neurovascular foramina were topographically analyzed. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Descriptive statistics. RESULTS: The foramina were observed in 64 mandibles (95.5%) and were often multiple in most of the cases. They were located between the two medial incisors in 8 mandibles (1.9%), between the medial and lateral incisor in 34 mandibles (50.7%; 25-bilateral; 7-right; 2-left), between the lateral incisor and canine in 7 mandibles (10.4%; 2-bilateral; 3-right; 2-left), between the canine and first premolar in 6 cases (8.9%; 3 on each side). Foramina were also present around the genial tubercle in 56 mandibles (83.6%). Among them, 52 mandibles showed a single foramen just above the genial tubercle, 34 mandibles had foramina below the tubercles, 13 mandibles had foramina on the right side of genial tubercle and 17 were having on the left side. CONCLUSION: Since the anatomical details of these foramina are important to various fields of dentistry and oncology, the present investigation was undertaken. The clinical significance and implications are emphasized.

Morphological investigation of cranial sutures in Indian human adult skulls.

OBJECTIVES: The goal of the study was to evaluate the gross morphology of the coronal, sagittal and lambdoid sutures in human adult dried skulls and to determine if any difference exists in terms of patency. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 78 human dry skulls of Indian population. The coronal, sagittal and lambdoid sutures were analyzed using the modified grading scale (Sabini RC and Elkowitz DE, 2006) for quantifying the sutural patency. An open suture was graded as 0, a fused suture as 1 and an obliterated suture as 2, 3 or 4, depending on the extent of obliteration. RESULTS: In coronal suture, the grade 1 suture was seen in 3.9%, grade 2 in 55.1%, grade 3 in 33.3%, and grade 4 in 7.7% of the cases. The sagittal sutures had grade 1 in 2.6%, grade 2 in 46.1%, grade 3 in 37.2%, and grade 4 in 14.1% of the cases. In contrast, the lambdoid suture showed 23.1% grade 1, 55.1% grade 2, 16.7% grade 3, and 5.1% grade 4 sutures. The grade 0 suture morphology was not observed in any of the skulls. CONCLUSIONS: When compared with the coronal and sagittal sutures, the lambdoid suture was more likely to be patent. The prolonged patency of the lambdoid suture may be due to external forces acting on it. The greater number of muscles acting on the lambdoid suture compared to coronal and sagittal sutures may be considered as the cause. We believe that, these findings may be helpful to the researchers who are interested in biomedical science and osteopathic manipulative medicine. The findings are also enlightening for the neuroscientists, morphologists, anthropologists and clinicians.