Morphological observations of the nasolacrimal canal

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Abstract
The lacrimal drainage system is known not as a straight but winding mucosal passage. Lang (1979) reports certain bends and angles of the bony nasolacrimal canal. the aim of this study was to quantify the bends of the nasolacrimal canal in macerated skulls. the lower orifice of the nasolacrimal canal beneath the inferior concha was closed by means of bone wax. Afterwards, epoxy resin containing finely dispersed Bismuth-(III)-oxide was used to fill the bony canal from its upper opening. Standardized radiographs were taken of these specimens before removing the bony structures surrounding the epoxy resin casts of the nasolacrimal canal. the isolated casts were photographed from a frontal and lateral aspect. the angles were then measured and used for a trigonometric construction of the maximal curvature of the nasolacrimal canal. Detailed measurements will be reported. As a main result, a dorsomedial curvature of the nasolacrimal canal was found in most cases, showing a considerable variation in its angle. the clinical implications will be discussed.

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