Location of the infraorbital and mental foramen with reference to the soft-tissue landmarks.
BACKGROUND
The purpose of the present study was to determine the locations of the infraorbital foramen and mental foramen based on soft-tissue landmarks to facilitate prediction of the locations of these structures during facial surgery.


METHODS
Fifty embalmed cadavers (100 sides) of Koreans were dissected to expose the infraorbital foramen and mental foramen. The distances between the bilateral infraorbital foramina and between the mental foramina and the distances between the alae of the nose and between the corners of the mouth (cheilions) were measured directly on the cadavers, and the vertical and horizontal distances between the infraorbital foramen and mental foramen and the ala of the nose and cheilions, respectively, were measured indirectly on photographs.


RESULTS
The distance between the bilateral infraorbital foramina (54.9 +/- 3.4 mm) was greater than that between the bilateral mental foramina (47.2 +/- 5.5 mm). The infraorbital foramen was located 1.6 +/- 2.7 mm lateral and 14.1 +/- 2.8 mm superior to the ala of the nose. The distance between the ala of the nose and the infraorbital foramen was 15.9 +/- 2.8 mm, and the horizontal angle between these structures was 64.1 +/- 9.9 degrees laterosuperiorly. The mental foramen was located 20.4 +/- 3.9 mm inferior and 3.3 +/- 2.9 mm medial to the cheilions. The distance between the cheilions and mental foramen was 20.9 +/- 3.8 mm, and the vertical angle between these structures was 9.2 +/- 8.1 degrees inferomedially.


CONCLUSIONS
This study provides data that will be useful in predicting the locations of the infraorbital foramen and mental foramen when used together with hard-tissue landmarks. These data may be particularly helpful for facial surgery in patients with missing teeth.
Song
Wu-Chul
WC
Chungju and Seoul, Korea From the Departments of Anatomy and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, College of Medicine, Konkuk University; Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, College of Medicine, Hanyang University; Department of Anatomy, Catholic Institution for Applied Anatomy, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea; and Division of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Department of Oral Biology, College of Dentistry, Oral Science Research Center, Human Identification Research Center, Yonsei University.
Kim
Sun-Heum
SH
Paik
Doo-Jin
DJ
Han
Seung-Ho
SH
Hu
Kyung-Seok
KS
Kim
Hee-Jin
HJ
Koh
Ki-Seok
KS
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People; D002508:Cephalometry; D002680:Chin / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D005145:Face / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009915:Orbit / Q000033:anatomy & histology*