The position and course of the mandibular canal.

Twenty-nine human cadaver mandibles were dissected longitudinally and cross-sectionally for determination of the precise location of the inferior alveolar nerve, artery, and vein. The neurovascular bundle was located in contact with, or very close to, the lingual cortical plate until it reached the mental foramen. Anterior to the mental foramen, the neurovascular bundle was not a distinct entity and was located close to the labial cortical plate. In the body of the mandible, the neurovascular bundle was located about one centimeter above the mandibular inferior border. The distance from the lateral border of the neurovascular bundle to the external surface of the buccal plate was usually half a centimeter in the molar and premolar regions. The mandibular canal was usually formed by a thin bony plate that, grossly, had more of an appearance of trabecular bone; in only a few mandibles was there a thin layer of cortical bone.