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Topographic distribution area of the infraorbital nerve

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Abstract

The infraorbital nerve (ION) supplies the skin and mucous membranes of the middle portion of the face. This nerve is vulnerable to injury during surgical procedures of mid-face. Severe pain and loss of sense are noted in patients whose infraorbital nerve is either entirely or partially lost after these surgeries. We investigated the distribution area and topography of the ION, about which little is currently known, by dissecting 43 hemifaces of Korean cadavers. The ION produced four main branches, the inferior palpebral, internal nasal, external nasal, and superior labial branches. The inferior palpebral branch was generally bifurcated, giving off a medial and a lateral branch (58.1%). The internal nasal branch ran superior to the depressor septi muscle, along the ala of the nose. It supplied the skin of the philtrum and gave off a terminal branch that supplied the nasal septum and the vestibule of the nose. The external nasal branch was distributed diversely supplying areas between the root and the ala of the nose. The superior labial branch was the largest branch of the ION produced the most subbranches. These subbranches were divided into the medial and lateral branches depending upon the area that they supplied.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Yonsei University College of Dentistry fund 2006 (6-2006-0011).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division in Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Department of Oral Biology, Oral Science Research Center, Human Identification Research Center, Brain Korea 21 Project, College of Dentistry, Yonsei University, 134 Shinchon-dong, Seodaemoon-gu, Seoul, 120-752, South Korea

    Kyung-Seok Hu & Hee-Jin Kim

  2. College of Dentistry, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea

    Jinny Kwak

  3. Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, Konkuk University, Chungju, South Korea

    Ki-Seok Koh

  4. Department of Anatomy, Tokyo Dental College, Chiba, Japan

    Shinichi Abe

  5. Laboratoire d’Anatomie, Faculté de Medecine, Henri Warembourg, Université Lille 2, Lille, France

    Christian Fontaine

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  1. Kyung-Seok Hu
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  2. Jinny Kwak
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  3. Ki-Seok Koh
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  4. Shinichi Abe
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  5. Christian Fontaine
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  6. Hee-Jin Kim
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Correspondence to Hee-Jin Kim.

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Hu, KS., Kwak, J., Koh, KS. et al. Topographic distribution area of the infraorbital nerve. Surg Radiol Anat 29, 383–388 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-007-0227-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-007-0227-z

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