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Morphological observation and CBCT of the bony canal structure of the groove and the location of blood vessels and nerves in the palatine of elderly human cadavers

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Abstract

Purpose

The greater and lesser palatine nerves and vessels supply the hard and soft palates, and the roots of these vessels and nerves run through a bony structure. However, the arrangement of blood vessels in the maxilla requires attention during clinical treatments, but detailed morphological information about changes in the greater and lesser palatine arteries and nerves during aging is unavailable. We therefore need detailed investigations of the morphology of the donor cadaver palatine using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) and macroscopic observations.

Methods

We investigated 72 donor cadavers using macroscopic segmentation and CBCT. The results’ analysis examined differences in skull measurement parameters and differences between dentate and edentulous cases.

Results

The greater palatine artery and nerve showed different macroscopic arrangements in dentate and edentulous cadavers. We also classified three types of bony structures of the nerve and vessel roots in the molar regions of the palatine using CBCT images: the shallow groove, deep groove, and flat groove. The deep groove is the deepest of the three and is remarkable in edentulous elderly cadavers.

Conclusion

This study of macroscopic and CBCT data provides information useful for planning dental implant surgeries and autogenous bone harvesting.

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

Protocol/project development: IS, YM. Data collection and management: RA, TK. Data analysis: YM, YM. Manuscript writing/editing IS, YM.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Iwao Sato.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Miwa, Y., Asaumi, R., Kawai, T. et al. Morphological observation and CBCT of the bony canal structure of the groove and the location of blood vessels and nerves in the palatine of elderly human cadavers. Surg Radiol Anat 40, 199–206 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-017-1952-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-017-1952-6

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