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Positional Variation of the Mandibular Foramen in African‐American Versus Caucasian Populations of Male and Female Human Skulls
Author(s) -
Bee Mary Tracy,
Aljerdi Ibrahim,
Ciavaglia Marco,
Elturk Adam,
Barton Scott T
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.896.25
Subject(s) - inferior alveolar nerve , medicine , foramen , mandible (arthropod mouthpart) , anatomy , mandibular nerve , significant difference , skull , dentistry , orthodontics , biology , molar , zoology , genus
The mandibular foramen is an opening on the medial surface of the mandible, through which the inferior alveolar nerve passes. This nerve is targeted when anesthetizing the lower jaw, as required in many dental procedures. Our research investigated variability in the position of the mandibular foramen in male and female populations, as well as in Caucasian and African‐American populations. One hundred skulls from the Hamaan‐Todd collection at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History were digitally photographed and analyzed. Preliminary results do not identify a significant difference in the position of the foramen between males and females (p>0.10). However, a significant difference in the antero‐posterior position of the foramen in Caucasian and African‐American populations was identified (p<0.05). This has great clinical relevance as it may result in variable treatment and positioning of anesthesia needles in patients of different races.