A Three-Dimensional Morphometric Analysis of the Infraorbitale Foramen.

Abstract

The infraorbital foramen (IOF) is a key reference point on the face, as the infraorbital nerve, which passes through it, is distributed across the face and provides sensation to important structures of midface region. The objective of this study is to conduct a morphometric analysis of the IOF in 3 dimensions. CBCT images of 92 individuals (50 females and 42 males) aged between 18 and 60 years were taken and transferred to the 3D Slicer program, and 3D images were obtained. Vertical and transverse diameter of the IOF and distance from IOF to inferior orbital margin, anterior nasal spine, and nasion were measured. IOF shapes (oval, round, triangular, and semilunar) were also determined in the study. While it was found that the transverse and vertical diameters of the IOF did not change statistically on the right according to gender (P>0.05), they changed statistically on the left (P<0.05). Furthermore, a statistically significant difference was observed in the distance measurements between the IOF and the anterior nasal spine, nasion, both on the right and left (P<0.05). In addition, a statistically significant difference was observed between the genders in the measured angle (P<0.05). The semilunar shape (41.3%) was more common on the right side, while oval (40.2%) and semilunar (39.1%) were seen more frequently and in close amounts on the left side. The 3-dimensional nature of our study distinguishes it from other studies in the literature. The authors suggest that these reference values will be helpful to clinicians for appropriate surgical and invasive procedure choices.