Objective: This study consists of anatomic research of the pterygoid hamulus (PH) using 3D cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images reconstructed from a volumetric rendering program.
Study design: Three hundred ninety-six sides in the CBCT scans of 198 (115 men and 83 women) patients were retrospectively analyzed. DICOM data of the patients were transferred to a surface-rendering software so as to generate 3D hard tissue surface representations of PHs. The width, length, angle, and the distance between posterior nasal spine and tip of the PH were measured. In addition, the inclinations of PHs were also evaluated in sagittal and coronal planes of the 3D images. Pearson χ(2) and Student t test were performed for statistical analysis among age, localization, and measurements (P < .05).
Results: The mean PH measurements of left and right sides were 1.72 (SD 0.94) and 1.87 (SD 1.17)-mm width, and the lengths were 5.48 (AD 1.94), and 5.40 (SD 2.0) mm, respectively, with no significant difference (P > .05). All PHs were inclined toward the lateral side in the coronal plane, whereas PHs tended to incline toward the posterior rather than anterior in the sagittal plane (∼78%). The results showed no statistically significant differences among age, localization, and measurements of PHs (P > .05).
Conclusions: Knowledge about the morphology of these structures is helpful for the interpretation of imaging and provides valuable information in the differential diagnosis of untraceable pains in the oral cavity and pharynx. Because of potential problems owing to PH morphology and elongation, oral and maxillofacial radiologists should assess the radiographic images thoroughly.
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