A Radiological Study on the Topographical Relationships between the Vestibular, Cochlear and Facial Nerves
Objective: The purpose of our study was to investigate the topographical relationship between these nerves along their course from the brainstem through the internal acoustic canal IAC in the living human brain using MR imaging.Materials and Methods: We performed three-dimensional gradient echo bala...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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AVES
2012-04-01
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| Series: | Eurasian Journal of Medicine |
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| Online Access: | http://www.eajm.org/text.php3?id=421 |
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| author | Sacide Unel Mehmet Yilmaz Sait Albayram Adem Kiris Zehra Isik Elvan Ceyhan Huseyin Isildak Yildiray Savas Zafer Keser |
| author_facet | Sacide Unel Mehmet Yilmaz Sait Albayram Adem Kiris Zehra Isik Elvan Ceyhan Huseyin Isildak Yildiray Savas Zafer Keser |
| author_sort | Sacide Unel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective: The purpose of our study was to investigate the topographical relationship between these nerves along their course from the brainstem through the internal acoustic canal IAC in the living human brain using MR imaging.Materials and Methods: We performed three-dimensional gradient echo balanced Fast Field Echo (3D bFFE) sequence oblique parasagittal MR imaging in 73 healthy subjects. The IACs were analyzed from the brainstem end of the IAC to the fundus in contiguous sections. At five levels, the topographical relationships between the facial and vestibulocochlear nerves (VCN) were recorded. In the lateral portions of the IACs where they separated from each other, the relative sizes of the individual nerves were examined.Results: In general, the facial nerve (FN), which is a round structure, is located anteriorly and superiorly to the vestibulocochlear nerve throughout its course. The vestibulocochlear nerve is usually rectangular; however, it was found to be round and at times triangular in shape near the brainstem, before it became crescent-shaped at the porus in 89% of the cases. The superior vestibular nerve kept its posterosuperior position in the canal, and the inferior vestibular nerve (IVN) and the cochlear nerve (CN) travelled inferior to it. The superior and inferior vestibular nerves were divided by the falciform crest in 53% of the cases. The inferior vestibular nerve was the smallest nerve in 52% of the cases, and the cochlear nerve was the largest in 36% of the cases.Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this study is the largest in vivo MR study, and most of our findings differ from previous cadaver studies. Determination of these topographical relationships may facilitate our understanding of the complicated physiological relationships between the 7th and 8th nerve complexes during surgery in this region. |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1308-8734 1308-8742 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T10:17:35Z |
| publishDate | 2012-04-01 |
| publisher | AVES |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Eurasian Journal of Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-26c57af87649401bb8511118603cbc712023-02-15T16:21:48ZengAVESEurasian Journal of Medicine1308-87341308-87422012-04-01441612A Radiological Study on the Topographical Relationships between the Vestibular, Cochlear and Facial NervesSacide UnelMehmet YilmazSait AlbayramAdem KirisZehra IsikElvan CeyhanHuseyin IsildakYildiray SavasZafer KeserObjective: The purpose of our study was to investigate the topographical relationship between these nerves along their course from the brainstem through the internal acoustic canal IAC in the living human brain using MR imaging.Materials and Methods: We performed three-dimensional gradient echo balanced Fast Field Echo (3D bFFE) sequence oblique parasagittal MR imaging in 73 healthy subjects. The IACs were analyzed from the brainstem end of the IAC to the fundus in contiguous sections. At five levels, the topographical relationships between the facial and vestibulocochlear nerves (VCN) were recorded. In the lateral portions of the IACs where they separated from each other, the relative sizes of the individual nerves were examined.Results: In general, the facial nerve (FN), which is a round structure, is located anteriorly and superiorly to the vestibulocochlear nerve throughout its course. The vestibulocochlear nerve is usually rectangular; however, it was found to be round and at times triangular in shape near the brainstem, before it became crescent-shaped at the porus in 89% of the cases. The superior vestibular nerve kept its posterosuperior position in the canal, and the inferior vestibular nerve (IVN) and the cochlear nerve (CN) travelled inferior to it. The superior and inferior vestibular nerves were divided by the falciform crest in 53% of the cases. The inferior vestibular nerve was the smallest nerve in 52% of the cases, and the cochlear nerve was the largest in 36% of the cases.Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this study is the largest in vivo MR study, and most of our findings differ from previous cadaver studies. Determination of these topographical relationships may facilitate our understanding of the complicated physiological relationships between the 7th and 8th nerve complexes during surgery in this region.http://www.eajm.org/text.php3?id=421Cochlear nerveFacial nerveMagnetic ResonanceTopographyVestibular nerve |
| spellingShingle | Sacide Unel Mehmet Yilmaz Sait Albayram Adem Kiris Zehra Isik Elvan Ceyhan Huseyin Isildak Yildiray Savas Zafer Keser A Radiological Study on the Topographical Relationships between the Vestibular, Cochlear and Facial Nerves Eurasian Journal of Medicine Cochlear nerve Facial nerve Magnetic Resonance Topography Vestibular nerve |
| title | A Radiological Study on the Topographical Relationships between the Vestibular, Cochlear and Facial Nerves |
| title_full | A Radiological Study on the Topographical Relationships between the Vestibular, Cochlear and Facial Nerves |
| title_fullStr | A Radiological Study on the Topographical Relationships between the Vestibular, Cochlear and Facial Nerves |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Radiological Study on the Topographical Relationships between the Vestibular, Cochlear and Facial Nerves |
| title_short | A Radiological Study on the Topographical Relationships between the Vestibular, Cochlear and Facial Nerves |
| title_sort | radiological study on the topographical relationships between the vestibular cochlear and facial nerves |
| topic | Cochlear nerve Facial nerve Magnetic Resonance Topography Vestibular nerve |
| url | http://www.eajm.org/text.php3?id=421 |
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