Variations in the anatomy of the inferior alveolar nerve.

Variations in the anatomy of the inferior alveolar nerve were seen in 2 of the 20 dissections of the infratemporal fossa in 10 cadavers. A connecting nerve branch that originated from the auriculotemporal nerve joined the inferior alveolar nerve on both sides. The second part of the maxillary artery passed between the mandibular nerve, the root of the inferior alveolar nerve, and the connecting nerve branch which formed a loop. The maxillary artery seemed to be entrapped. Neurovascular entrapment can cause pain and numbness. Anatomical variations in this region should be kept in mind, particularly in cases of failed treatment of trigeminal neuralgia.

Supraarticular, supramastoid and suprameatal crests on the outer surface of the temporal bone and the relation between them.

Supraarticular, supramastoid and suprameatal crests on the outer surface of the squamous part of the temporal bone are of clinical importance as they are accepted as landmarks for some surgical approaches relating to the temporomandibular joint, the middle cranial fossa and mastoid air cells, respectively. Because of the surgical importance of the crests, their incidence and the relations between them were studied on a total of 442 (250 male, 192 female) dry skulls. In addition, three-dimensional (3D) surface renderings of the squamous part of the temporal bone were created from routine axial computed tomographic (CT) images in four cadaver specimens to demonstrate the surface anatomy. Suprameatal crests were observed commonly as a trace type on the male dry skulls (51.2%), though no such crest was seen on most of the female skulls (54.4%). Supramastoid crests were commonly observed as a small crest on male dry skulls (46.6%), but as a trace type on female dry skulls (52.05%). Supraarticular crests were commonly seen as a trace type on both male (58.6%) and female (70.6%) dry skulls. In the light of the above data, it can be concluded that the crests on the male dry skulls were stronger than those on the female skulls. The angles between the crests were also examined. It was observed that the angle between the supraarticular and supramastoid crests was larger in male dry skulls compared with the female dry skulls. On the other hand, no gender difference was observed when the angle between the suprameatal and supraarticular crests was examined.

A beaklike bony extension of the medial aspect of the greater sciatic notch: a radiographic appearance sexually influenced.

The bony pelvis provides more obvious sex differences than any other bone in the human skeleton. This study evaluates a bony extension of the medial aspect of the greater sciatic notch, which extends caudad to the arcuate line as seen on pelvic radiographs. A total of 2620 randomly selected supine pelvic radiographs (anteroposterior view) of adult females and males were reviewed. The subjects belonged to a central Anatolian population and their age ranged between 18 and 77 years in females and between 18 and 81 years in males. Only 22 (1.7%) of the 1337 female pelvic radiographs showed a bony extension, whereas 882 (68.8%) of the males had one. All these bony extensions were bilateral and symmetric. The results were statistically significant (P < 0.001). We assert that this radiographic appearance is a male characteristic.

The preauricular sulcus: its radiologic evidence and prevalence.

The preauricular sulcus is a groove frequently seen on the iliac bone, adjacent and parallel to the inferior surface of the sacroiliac joint. It has been described as a characteristic of the female pelvis. A total of 3200 pelvic radiographs (1508 male and 1692 female) were examined and in 393 female (about 23%) the preauricular sulcus was encountered. None was seen in male radiographs.