[Studies on the position of the mandibular foramen]

Accurate investigation of the position of the mandibular foramen is important in anatomical and clinical studies, and there are a number of reports about such measurements. In this study, 140 Indian dry skulls, whose dental stages ranged from the stage before deciduous occlusion to the later phase of third molar eruption, were reproduced and the position of the mandibular foramen was measured using laser beams and three-direction photography. The position of the mandibular foramen was defined by the tip of the lingula mandibulae. 1. The angle of the lingula mandibulae was 45 degrees in children and it decreased with ageing. 2. At the later phase of the deciduous occlusion stage, the distance from the occlusal plane to the tip of the lingula mandibulae was high. 3. Each distance increased with the increasing age, height and width of the ramus mandibulae, the front and rear of the lingula mandibulae, and height of the lingula mandibulae. 4. There was little change with age in the ratio of the height of the ramus mandibulae to the height of the lingula mandibulae, and the ratio of the width of the ramus mandibulae to the distance of rear the lingula mandibulae. 5. The method for producing anesthesia in the mandibular foramen of children is as follows. The injection is aimed at the lingula mandibulae, which is 1/2 of the height and 1/2 of the width of the ramus mandibulae, from between the deciduous canine and the first molar on the opposite side, at a 10 angle to occlusal plane and at a 45 angle to the median line. In this manner it is possible to inject into the pterygomandibular space safely and expect certain anesthesia. In this study, the position of the mandibular foramen of children was accurately determined, as well as a safe clinical method for producing anesthesia to the mandibular foramen.