Mandibular Foramen Location and Lingula Height in Dentate Dry Mandibles, and its Relationship With Cephalic Index Localización del Foramen Mandibular y Altura de la Língula Mandibular en Mandíbulas Dentadas Secas, y su Relación con el Índice Cefálico

FERNANDES, A. C. S.; LOUREIRO, R. P.; OLIVEIRA, L. & DE MORAES, M. Mandibular foramen location and lingula heightin dentate dry mandibles, and its relationship with cephalic index. Int. J. Morphol., 33(3):1038-1044, 2015.SUMMARY: The mandibular foramen and its lingula is a major landmark when administering anesthetic or performing surgicalprocedures. The objective of this study was to determine whether the topological features of the mandibular foramen (MF) and lingulavaried in mandibles from skulls of different cephalic indexes. The location of the mandibular foramen referred to the longitudi nal bordersof the mandibular ramus (MR), height of the foramen (Hf) referred to the occlusal line of the second molar, and the height of t he lingula(Hl) were determined in a total of one hundred and five dry mandibles from skulls identified as dolicho- meso- and brachycephal ic. Onaverage MF in brachycephalic mandibles was closest to the anterior border of MR. Hf in brachy-, meso- and dolichocephalic mandi bleswere -0.22 mm, -4.04 mm and -4,01mm, respectively. The lingula in brachycephalic specimens was considerably shorter (0.78 mm) t hanin dolichocephalic ones (1.84 mm). Inferior alveolar nerve block should be carried out using shorter needles, inserting it 4mm above theocclusion level of the molar teeth. The ramus of brachicephalic mandibles were significantly less wide those of dolicho- and me socephalicones. If the height of the lingula is to be used as a reference to judge the level of the medial horizontal cut to carry out sa gittal split ramusosteotomy, special attention should be given to the patient’s cephalic index.KEY WORDS: Lingula; Mandibular foramen; Cephalic index.