Korean J Phys Anthropol.  1997 Dec;10(2):273-282.

A Study on the Variations in Arteries and Nerves of the Infratemporal fossa in Korean

• Park SH
• Kim MK
• Paik KS

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the courses of the maxillary artery and variations of the arteries and nerves in the infratemporal fossa from 36 Korean adult cadavers. The results were as follows; 1. In the majority of the cases (81.9%), course of the maxillary artery runs lateral to the lateral pterygoid muscle. 2. The variations of the arteries and nerves in the infratemporal fossa could be classified into six types. In the most common (type 2, 61.1%), the maxillary artery runs lateral to the lateral pterygoid muscle, and the inferior alveolar lingual and buccal nerves lie medial to the maxillary artery. In the next (type 1, 20.8%), the maxillary artery runs lateral to the lateral pterygoid muscle and the inferior alveolar and lingual nerves lie medial to the maxillary artery, and buccal nerve lies lateral to the maxillary artery. The remaining types were type 3 (7.0%), type 4 (4.2%), type 5 (5.6%) and type 6 (1.4%) in order.

Keyword

Infratemporal fossa; Maxillary artery; Mandibular nerve; Variations; Korean

MeSH Terms

Adult
Arteries*
Cadaver
Humans
Lingual Nerve
Mandibular Nerve
Maxillary Artery
Pterygoid Muscles