The mandibular foramen is an opening on the inner surface of the mandibular ramus, about midway between its anterior and posterior borders. It leads into the mandibular canal and transmits the inferior alveolar nerve and vessels, and it is partly overlapped by a tongue of bone called the lingula.
| Articulations | |
|---|---|
| Landmarks |
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| Ossification | Forms in the ramus of the mandible, which ossifies in membrane; the lingula marks the attachment of the sphenomandibular ligament, a remnant of Meckel cartilage. |
The foramen is the target of the inferior alveolar nerve block, the most common dental anaesthetic injection, which numbs the lower teeth, lip and chin on one side. Its position changes with age, being lower in children. Surgery on the ramus, such as sagittal split osteotomy, must protect the nerve where it enters the foramen.
Damage to the nerve at or beyond the foramen from dental injections, third molar surgery or jaw osteotomy causes numbness of the lower lip, chin and teeth.
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