The course of the buccal nerve: relationships with the temporalis muscle during the prenatal period.

The aim of this study was to describe the course of the buccal nerve and its relationships with the temporalis muscle during the prenatal period. Serial sections of 90 human fetal specimens ranging from 9 to 17 wk development were studied by light microscopy. Each fetal specimen was studied on both right and left sides, making a total of 180 cases for study. A 3-D reconstruction of the region analysed in one of the specimens was made. In 89 cases the buccal nerve was located medial to the temporalis muscle; in 73 cases it penetrated the muscle; in 15 cases it lay in a canal formed by the muscle fibres and was covered by fascia, and finally, in 3 cases it was a branch of the inferior alveolar nerve. The study has revealed that in a large number of cases the buccal nerve maintains an intimate association with the temporalis muscle.