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The clinical anatomy of accessory mandibular canal in dentistry
Author(s) -
Ngeow Wei Cheong,
Chai WenLin
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
clinical anatomy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.667
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1098-2353
pISSN - 0897-3806
DOI - 10.1002/ca.23567
Subject(s) - medicine , mandibular canal , anatomy , neurovascular bundle , mandible (arthropod mouthpart) , dentition , inferior alveolar nerve , orthodontics , dentistry , biology , molar , genus , botany
The mandibular canal is a conduit that allows the inferior alveolar neurovascular bundle to transverse the mandible to supply the dentition, jawbone and soft tissue around the gingiva and the lower lip. It is not a single canal but an anatomical structure with multiple branches and variations. The branches are termed accessory, bifid or trifid canals depending on their number and configuration. A bifid mandibular canal is an anatomical variation reported more commonly than the trifid variant. Because of these variations, it is of the utmost importance to determine the exact location of the mandibular canal and to identify any branches arising from it prior to performing surgery in the mandible. This article reviews the prevalence, classification and morphometric measurements of these accessory mandibular canals, emphasizing their clinical significance.