Formation and early prenatal location of the human mental foramen.

Abstract

The formation and early prenatal location of the human mental foramen was investigated on 43 human fetuses. Histochemical methods supplemented by macroscopic visualization were used. Similar studies on the mental foramen were not available in the literature. The study demonstrated constancy in the developmental sequence of the bony structures in the region of the mental foramen. The formation of the mental foramen was described and related to general developmental parameters such as CRL and CNO values (skeletal maturity indexes of the hand and foot). The study indicated that the very early position of the mental foramen was in the region of the interstitial bone between the primary canine and the primary first molar. A positional change in the dorsal direction was described during the first half of the prenatal period.