Issue release date: 12.11.2024
2Laboratoire danatomie et dorganogenèse, 3 rue des Louvels Université de Picardie Jules Vernes, Amiens, France DOI : 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.9136-13.0 Aim: To describe the origin, the course, and relationships of the labyrinthine artery (LA).
Material and Methods: Thanks to a colored silicone mix preparation, ten cranial bases were examined using x3 to x40 magnification under surgical microscope.
Results: The LA often arose from the meatal loop of the anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) (90%), or basilar artery (10%). The loop was extra-meatal of the internal auditory meatus (IAM) in 30%, at the opening of the internal auditory meatus in 20%, or intra-meatal in 35%. The AICA coursed in closed relationship to the VII and VIII cranial nerves. It coursed between VII and VIII cranial nerve roots in 85%, or passed over the ventral side of both VII and VIII cranial nerve. The average diameter of the LA was 0.2 +/- 0.05 mm. LA was single trunk in 60%, and bi-arterial in 40%.
Conclusion: The implication of these anatomic findings for cerebello-pontine angle tumors surgery and neurovascular pathology such as infarction, aneurysm of the LA or the AICA are reviewed and discussed.
Keywords : Labyrinthine artery, Internal auditory meatus, Anterior inferior cerebellar artery, Microsurgical anatomy