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Lingual Vascular Canals of the Mandible: Evaluation with Dental CT¹

¹ From the Department of Radiology (A.G., S.S.) and Institute of Anatomy (M.P.), University of Vienna Medical School, Währingerstr 25a, A-1090 Vienna, Austria; and the Department of Oral Surgery and Prosthodontics, University of Vienna Dental School, Austria (U.H., G.T., K.Z., G.W.). Received October 13, 2000; revision requested December 5; revision received January 12, 2001; accepted January 26. Address correspondence to A.G. (e-mail: andre.gahleitner@univie.ac.at).

PURPOSE: To evaluate whether dental computed tomography (CT) can depict the frequency, diameter, position, and direction of vessels entering the mandible through lingual bone canals.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-two consecutive patients underwent preimplantation CT of the lower jaw and examination for the presence, number, location, diameter, and direction of lingual canals entering the mandible. In addition, three cadaver mandibles were investigated with dental CT and subsequently dissected to confirm the CT findings.

RESULTS: All patients demonstrated at least one lingual vascular canal, and 20 (63%) had multiple (two to five) canals. The typical lingual canal locations were the midline of the mandible and the premolar region. The mean diameter of the lingual canals was 0.7 mm ± 0.3 (SD) (range, 0.4–1.5 mm) in the midline and 0.6 mm ± 0.2 (range, 0.3–1.2 mm) in both premolar regions of the mandible. Examination results in the three cadaver mandibles confirmed the CT findings in those mandibles.

CONCLUSION: Dental CT can depict the occurrence, position, and size of the lingual vascular canals of the mandible. Radiologists should be aware of this anatomic feature and its possible implications.

Index terms: Computed tomography (CT), three-dimensional, 243.12117 • Computed tomography (CT), treatment planning, 243.12111, 243.12117 • Jaws, CT, 243.12111, 243.12117, 243.92

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