title: The marginal mandibular nerve in relation to the inferior border of the mandible.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Injury to the marginal mandibular nerve (MMN) can occur in numerous surgeries involving incisions near the inferior border of the mandible. Injury to this nerve can cause considerable cosmetic and functional deformities. A thorough knowledge and understanding of the anatomic pathway of the MMN is important to avoid permanent nerve damage. The purpose of this study was to determine the position of the marginal mandibular nerve in relation to several key mandibular anatomic landmarks and to identify variations of the nerve as it approaches the inferior border of the mandible.
  
  
  METHODS
  Human cadavers were dissected superficially from the parotid gland to the mental protuberance to expose the MMN. At complete exposure of the nerve, 5 anatomic landmarks on the inferior border of the mandible were identified and labeled. The distance between the MMN and these landmarks was recorded, and the average measurements were used to approximate the most common pathway of the MMN.
  
  
  RESULTS
  It was found that the MMN runs, on average, 0.75 mm below the gonion, 0.08 mm superior to the posterior border of the antegonial notch, 0.06 mm superior to the arc of the antegonial notch, 1.29 mm superior to the anterior border of the antegonial notch, 3.6 mm superior to the point at which the facial artery reaches the inferior border of the mandible, and 10.9 mm superior to the vertical line that extends from the commissure of lip to the inferior border of the mandible.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data suggest 3 general pathways of the MMN in relation to the inferior border of the mandible.
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Division Chief, and Chair, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals/Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH. Electronic address: dale.baur@case.edu.
authors.forename: Dale A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Baur
authors.affiliation: Resident, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Nassau University Medical Center, East Meadow, NY.
authors.forename: Adam C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Kaiser
authors.affiliation: General Practice Resident, Georgia Regents University College of Dentistry, Augusta, GA.
authors.forename: Brian N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Leech
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Oral Diagnosis and Radiology, Case School of Dental Medicine, Cleveland, OH.
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Landers
authors.affiliation: Physician, Department Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey; Research Fellow, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Dental Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH.
authors.forename: Mehmet Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Altay
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor and Residency Program Director, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals/Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH.
authors.forename: Faisal
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Quereshy
mesh_terms: D002102:Cadaver; D006801:Humans; D008334:Mandible / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008340:Mandibular Nerve / Q000033:anatomy & histology*