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Updated: Dec 31, 2025

Chronic Constriction Injury of the Rat's Infraorbital Nerve IoN-CCI to Study Trigeminal Neuropathic Pain
Published on: September 21, 2015
Location of the infraorbital foramen with reference to soft tissue landmarks for regional nerve blocks during midface
Kang-Jae Shin1, Hyun Jin Shin2, Shin-Hyo Lee3
1Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Dong-A University College of Medicine, Busan, Republic of Korea.
Purpose:
An infraorbital nerve (ION) block is widely used to accomplish regional anesthesia during surgical procedures involving the midface region. This study aimed to elucidate the exact location of the infraorbital foramen (IOF) in relation to clinically useful soft-tissue landmarks for achieving an effective ION block.
Methods:
Forty-three hemifaces from 23 embalmed Korean cadavers were dissected. The lateral canthus, peak of Cupid's bow, medial limbus, and midline were used as reference points. The distances from the IOF to the midline and the lateral canthus were measured.
Results:
The IOF was located approximately 25 mm below the lateral canthus and 27 mm lateral to the midline. In all cases, the IOF was situated within 9.0 mm of the crossing point of the oblique line connecting the lateral canthus to the peak of Cupid's bow and the vertical line through the medial limbus.
Conclusion:
Considering the spread of an anesthetic agent, injecting it into the crossing point of the oblique line through the lateral canthus to the peak of Cupid's bow and the vertical line through the medial limbus would successfully block the ION in most patients.
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