An anatomic study of the facial nerve

Kwak,  Hyun-Ho; Park,  Bong-Su; Kim,  Hee-Jin

J Korean Dent Assoc > Volume 50(10); 2012 > Article

The Journal of The Korean Dental Association 2012;50(10):624-629.
Published online October 31, 2012.

임상가를 위한 특집 3 - 얼굴신경의 해부학

곽현호¹, 박봉수², 김희진³

^¹부산대학교 치의학전문대학원 구강해부학교실
^²부산대학교 치의학전문대학원 구강해부학교실
^³연세대학교 치과대학 구강생물학교실

An anatomic study of the facial nerve

Hyun-Ho Kwak¹, Bong-Su Park², Hee-Jin Kim³

¹Department of Oral Anatomy, Pusan National University School of Dentistry
²Department of Oral Anatomy, Pusan National University School of Dentistry
³Division in Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Department of Oral Biology, Yonsei University College of Dentistry

Abstract

This study examined the anatomical relationships along with the variability of the facial nerve trunk and its branches with an emphasis on the intraparotid connections between the divisions. And histomorphometric observations of the facial nerve branches and fascicles were performed on 40 Korean half-heads. The facial nerve trunk was bifurcated into two main divisions(35/40, 87.5%) and the other five cases were divided into a trifurcation pattern. According to the origin of the buccal branch, the branching patterns of the facia l nerve were classified into four categories. Communications between the facial and auriculotemporal nerve branches were observed in 37 out of 40 cases(92.5%). In the histological observation, the buccal branch had the greatest number of branches(3.47), however the zygomatic branch had the largest diameters(0.93mm). This detailed description of the facial nerve anatomy wi ll provide useful information for surgical procedures such as a tumor resection. a facial nerve reconstruction, autonerve graft. and facelift.

Key Words: facial nerve;nerve graft;surgical anatomy;nerve fascicle;