Poutoglidis Alexandros, Paraskevas George P, Lazaridis Nikolaos, Asouhidou Irene, Galanis Nectarios, Iliou Kaliopi, Chrysanthou Chrysanthos, Anastasopoulos Nikolaos
Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, 'G Papanikolaou' General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Department of Anatomy and Surgical Anatomy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Indian J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2023 Sep;75(3):2309-2312. doi: 10.1007/s12070-023-03601-y. Epub 2023 Mar 2.
The extratemporal course of the facial nerve distributes in facial mimic muscles in a complex pattern. The traditional depictions of five main branches without anastomoses are not common. Davis classification remains the gold standard in the classification of facial nerve branching patterns. During a routine dissection of an 74-year-old male cadaveric specimen, we detected a very rare anatomical variation. The zygomatic branch of the facial nerve was totally absent. The temporofacial division of the main trunk was bifurcated to a temporal and a buccal branch. The anterior temporal and posterior buccal branches formed a plexus to supply the orbicularis oculi muscle. This unique variability highlights the complexity of the extratemporal facial nerve course. Retrograde facial nerve dissection requires deep knowledge of every anatomical variation of the facial nerve course to avoid an iatrogenic injury.
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12070-023-03601-y.
面神经颞外段在面部表情肌中的分布模式复杂。传统上描绘的无吻合的五个主要分支并不常见。戴维斯分类法仍是面神经分支模式分类的金标准。在对一具74岁男性尸体标本进行常规解剖时，我们发现了一种非常罕见的解剖变异。面神经颧支完全缺失。主干的颞面分支分为颞支和颊支。颞前支和颊后支形成一个神经丛，以供应眼轮匝肌。这种独特的变异凸显了面神经颞外段走行的复杂性。逆行面神经解剖需要对面神经走行的每一种解剖变异有深入了解，以避免医源性损伤。
在线版本包含可在10.1007/s12070-023-03601-y获取的补充材料。
