A case of a divided maxillary artery in the infratemporal fossa.

A divided maxillary artery was found in the left infratemporal fossa of a 63-year-old male cadaver during a student dissection practice. The maxillary artery, which arose from the external carotid artery at the posterior border of the ramus of the mandible, was divided into two branches in the infratemporal fossa. The deep branch of the maxillary artery was deep to the lateral pterygoid muscle and the inferior alveolar, buccal and lingual nerves, giving off the anterior tympanic, middle meningeal, anterior deep temporal, buccal, and posterior superior alveolar arteries. The deep branch passed through the pterygomaxillary fissure. On the other hand, the superficial branch of the maxillary artery, which was superficial to the lateral pterygoid muscle, gave off the inferior alveolar artery and other branches. The maxillary artery on the right side displayed a normal branching pattern within the infratemporal fossa. These findings indicate that the deep and superficial branches of the maxillary artery remained without disappearing during the development of the maxillary artery originated from the stapedial artery.

Facial soft tissue thickness in skeletal type I Japanese children.

Facial reconstruction techniques used in forensic anthropology require knowledge of the facial soft tissue thickness of each race if facial features are to be reconstructed correctly. If this is inaccurate, so also will be the reconstructed face. Knowledge of differences by age and sex are also required. Therefore, when unknown human skeletal remains are found, the forensic anthropologist investigates for race, sex, and age, and for other variables of relevance. Cephalometric X-ray images of living persons can help to provide this information. They give an approximately 10% enlargement from true size and can demonstrate the relationship between soft and hard tissue. In the present study, facial soft tissue thickness in Japanese children was measured at 12 anthropological points using X-ray cephalometry in order to establish a database for facial soft tissue thickness. This study of both boys and girls, aged from 6 to 18 years, follows a previous study of Japanese female children only, and focuses on facial soft tissue thickness in only one skeletal type. Sex differences in thickness of tissue were found from 12 years of age upwards. The study provides more detailed and accurate measurements than past reports of facial soft tissue thickness, and reveals the uniqueness of the Japanese child's facial profile.