title: Variations in the pattern of mental spines and spinous mental foramina in dry adult human mandibles.
abstract: The frequency and morphology of mental spines and spinous mental foramina was studied in 1200 adult human mandibles of Indian origin. The mental spines were present in 1178 mandibles (98.2%). The usual textbook description of four spines, arranged in two pairs one above the other was found only in 231 mandibles (19.6%). Mandibles with only two superior mental spines were seen in 842 cases (71.4%) which were associated with either a median vertical ridge below them (47.7%) or with a rough impression in place of the median ridge (23.7%). Spinous mental foramina (one to three) close to the midline and in between the spines were found in 1165 mandibles (97.57%). The presence of these foramina has not been mentioned in most textbooks of anatomy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Santosh Medical College, Ghaziabad, U.P. 201009, India.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Anand
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dinesh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002102:Cadaver; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D014716:Vertical Dimension