Lingual foramen

The small lingual foramen (black "hole" in lower portion of picture) as seen on a periapical radiograph of the anterior mandible.

The lingual foramen is a small midline opening on the posterior aspect of the symphysis of the mandible, just above the mental spine. The lingual foramen gives passage to a single small artery formed by the union of two branches of the sublingual arteries (each sublingual artery contributing a single branch).^[1]

References

1. Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice. Susan Standring (41st ed.). Philadelphia. 2016. p. 513. ISBN 978-0-7020-5230-9. OCLC 920806541.