Microanatomy of the infraorbital canal and its connecting canals in the maxilla using 3-D reconstruction of microcomputed tomographic images

The current study investigated the anatomy of the infraorbital canal (IOC) and its related small canals in the maxilla. Twenty-eight hemimaxillae from human cadavers were studied. The samples were scanned using microcomputed tomography, and then images were three-dimensionally reconstructed using computer software. The branch point of the canal into the anterior superior alveolar nerve from the IOC occurred at about one third along the length of the IOC in the anterior direction. Just over half of the cases had 1 canal. The branch arose either laterally (21/28) or inferiorly (7/28) from the IOC. There was a canal located at the inferior lateral border of the piriform aperture in all cases. The distribution of the canals in the maxilla is represented indirectly by the course and distribution of the nerve and blood vessels therein. This distribution could explain various phenomena encountered in the clinical field.