Effects of facial nerve compression on the stapedial nerve.

A series of experiments on guinea pigs was conducted to determine the prognostic dependability of the stapedial reflex measurement in Bell's palsy. Comparison of the threshold of evoked electromyographic response of the stapedius muscle with that of the orbicularis oris muscle revealed that the stapedial nerve had a lower excitability than did the nerve innervating the orbicularis oris muscle. This lower excitability correlates with the histological finding that the stapedial nerve fibers have a smaller average diameter. The results indicate the resistance of the stapedial nerve to injury of the facial nerve. Functional recovery after cramping of the facial nerve tended to occur later in the stapedial nerve than in the nerve innervating the orbicularis oris muscle. The resistance of the stapedial nerve and the longer period required to recover function in this nerve were factors influencing the prognostic ambiguity of this test.