Summary
The blood supply of 50 facial nerves was examined during a micro-anatomical study of the ponto-cerebellar angle using injections of colored latex or Chinese ink.
The results indicate the presence of a double arterial blood supply: the proximal supply, rising at the level of the brain stem, results from the confluence of three to five arterioles originating from the anterior inferior cerebellar artery or from the basilar artery itself; the distal supply at the level of the internal acoustic meatus arises from the labyrinthine artery.
These two arterial systems do not anastomose directly but by way of capillaries of less than 200 microns in diameter.
From these findings the authors conclude that certain postoperative facial paralyses, which may arise in spite of the conservation of the nerve, are in fact ischemic in nature.
Résumé
Dans le cadre d'une étude micro-anatomique de l'angle ponto-cérébelleux, la vascularisation de 50 nerfs faciaux est examinée sous microscope opératoire après injection au latex coloré ou à l'encre de Chine.
Cette étude permet aux auteurs de décrire un double apport artériel: l'un proximal, né au niveau du tronc cérébral, résulte de la confluence de 3 à 5 artérioles issues de l'ACiA ou de l'artère basilaire ellemême; l'autre distal, au niveau du méat acoustique interne, provient de l'artère labyrinthique. Ces deux systèmes artériels ne s'anastomosent pas entre eux à plein canal, mais par des capillaires d'un diamètre inférieur à 200 microns.
Les auteurs en tirent argument pour estimer que certaines paralysies faciales post-opératoires survenant malgré la conservation anatomique du nerf, sont de nature ischémique.
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Mercier, P., Cronier, P., Mayer, B. et al. Microanatomical study of the arterial blood supply of the facial nerve in the ponto-cerebellar angle. Anat. Clin 3, 263–270 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01799022
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01799022