LIII Surgical Anatomy of the Facial Canal and Facial Nerve

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The chief features of gross and microscopic anatomy of the facial canal have been described and figured, in relation to the present-day requirements of middle-ear reconstructive surgery. The structures encountered in surgical approach to the facial nerve have been considered from the fundus of the internal acoustic meatus to the stylomastoid foramen. Since the otic capsule keeps its essentially fetal architecture throughout life, and because, for a period postnatally, the second branchial arch (Reichert''s cartilage) contributes to the outer wall of the facial canal, the developmental history of these structures is reviewed. Such considerations possess clinical significance owing to the following circumstances: dehiscence of the canal represents a retention of a fetal condition; the formation of otosclerotic tissue (which may invade the facial canal) is related to a peculiarity in histological fabric in the area between the oval window and the cochlea. The service of the facial canal as a conduit of passage of ossicular blood vessels is also reviewed.