Combined anatomical variations: The mylohyoid bridge, retromolar canal and accessory palatine canals branched from the canalis sinuosus

Abstract

The study of anatomical variations is important not only for collecting anthropometric data, but also for improving clinical protocols and understanding why a particular clinical procedure sometimes does not yield the expected results. We report the case of a 74 year-old patient, in which we observed combined anatomical variants of the mandible and maxillary bone. One of these was the unilateral mylohyoid bridge (MB) of the uncommon, lingular type. This MB extended posteriorly to the spine of Spix, over the sulcus colli behind the spine. It thus formed a common mandibular canal (MC) which further divided into a retromolar canal and the MC proper. This combination of variants in the mandible has not, to our knowledge, previously been reported, at least in studies using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). Additionally we found multiple accessory canals (ACs) deriving from the canalis sinuosus, which opened opposite to each frontal tooth, presumably carrying either dental fibers of the palatine nerves, or palatine fibers of the anterior superior alveolar nerve. Although the ACs in the anterior palate are well established anatomical variants, the MB appears in publications rather as an anthropological identifier. However, when present, it can impede anaesthesia of the lower teeth and thus deserves to be included in anatomical descriptions. The evaluation of patients in CBCT should observe the anatomical features on a case-by-case basis and it also provide data for studies of MB prevalence in large numbers of patients.