The medial surface of the ramus of the mandible is the lateral wall of the infratemporal fossa (Fig. 8.137B). Its most distinctive feature is the mandibular foramen, which is the superior opening of the mandibular canal. The inferior alveolar nerve and vessels pass through this foramen.
Immediately anterosuperior to the mandibular foramen is a triangular elevation (the lingula) for attachment of the mandibular end of the sphenomandibular ligament.