Anatomy and Cell Biology

Korean Association of Anatomists (대한해부학회)
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The notch of the mandible: what do different fields call it?

  • Norio Kitagawa (Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Anatomy, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University) ;
  • Keiko Fukino (Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Anatomy, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University) ;
  • Yuki Matsushita (Department of Cell Biology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences) ;
  • Soichiro Ibaragi (Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University) ;
  • R. Shane Tubbs (Department of Neurosurgery, Tulane Center for Clinical Neurosciences, Tulane University School of Medicine) ;
  • Joe Iwanaga (Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Anatomy, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University)
  • Received : 2023.01.25
  • Accepted : 2023.03.07
  • Published : 2023.09.30
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Abstract

The bony notch on the inferior border of the mandible, anterior to the attachment of the masseter muscle, where the facial vessels commonly pass, has been called different names in the literature, e.g., premasseteric notch, antegonial notch, and notch for the facial vessels. Interestingly, various disciplines have leaned toward different names for this notch. Therefore, to aid in consistent communication among professionals, the present study aimed to analyze usage of these varied terms and make recommendations for the best terminology. Based on the adjacent anatomical structures used to name this notch, three groups were analyzed in this study, a group using masseter in the term, a group using gonion in the term, and a group using facial vessels in the term. A literature search found that the group using gonion in the term was found most in the literature. The orthodontics field used gonion in the term the most (29.0%: 31/107) followed by the oral and maxillofacial surgery field (14.0%: 15/107), the plastic surgery field (4.7%: 5/107), and the anatomy field (3.7%: 4/107). The dental field used gonion in this term the most (43.9%: 47/107) and the medical field used facial vessels in the term the most (33.3%: 6/18). Based on these results, the use of gonial terms for this notch seems to be preferred.

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References

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