Inferior tympanic canaliculus
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View Yahya Baba's current disclosures- Jacobson canal
The inferior tympanic canaliculus is a small bony passageway that lies within the petrous portion of the temporal bone, between the carotid canal and jugular foramen.
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Gross anatomy
The inferior tympanic canaliculus is a bony canal that separates the opening of the carotid canal anteromedially from the jugular foramen posterolaterally 1. It is also located medially to the stylomastoid foramen and the styloid process of the temporal bone.
Contents
The inferior tympanic canaliculus contains the inferior tympanic artery (branch of the ascending pharyngeal artery) in addition to the tympanic branch of the glossopharyngeal nerve (Jacobson nerve) as it passes through to the middle ear to form the tympanic plexus and subsequently the lesser petrosal nerve 2. Glomus bodies around the Jacobson nerve are also contained in the inferior tympanic canaliculus 7.
History and etymology
The inferior tympanic canaliculus is also referred to as "Jacobson's canal" and is named after Ludvig Levin Jacobson, a renowned anatomist from Copenhagen who in the early 1800s described the anatomy of the canal 3.
Related pathology
Several abnormalities of the neurovascular contents can smoothly enlarge the inferior tympanic canaliculus:
aberrant internal carotid artery: collateral pathway involving inferior tympanic artery
jugular paraganglioma: inferior tympanic artery may be hypertrophied supplying this hypervascular tumor 5
Bony destruction of the inferior tympanic canaliculus can be caused by paraganglioma with extension into jugular fossa and tympanic cavity: jugular paraganglioma 6.
References
- 1. Goravalingappa R. Cochlear Implant Electrode Insertion: Jacobson's Nerve, a Useful Anatomical Landmark. Indian J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2002;54(1):70-3. doi:10.1007/BF02911015 - Pubmed
- 2. Kanzara T. Clinical Anatomy of the Tympanic Nerve: A Review. WJO. 2014;4(4):17. doi:10.5319/wjo.v4.i4.17
- 3. Lekakis GK. Philipp Friedrich Arnold, Ludvig Levin Jacobson and their contribution to head and neck anatomy. (2003) The Journal of laryngology and otology. 117 (1): 28-31. doi:10.1258/002221503321046603 - Pubmed
- 4. Karandikar A, Tan TY, Ngo RY. Diagnosing features of Jacobson's nerve schwannoma. (2014) Singapore medical journal. 55 (6): e85-6. doi:10.11622/smedj.2013257 - Pubmed
- 5. Weissman JL, Hirsch BE. Imaging of tinnitus: a review. (2000) Radiology. 216 (2): 342-9. doi:10.1148/radiology.216.2.r00au45342 - Pubmed
- 6. Stanton CL, Fatterpekar GM. Imaging Interpretation of Temporal Bone Studies in a Patient with Tinnitus: A Systematic Approach. (2016) Neuroimaging clinics of North America. 26 (2): 207-25. doi:10.1016/j.nic.2015.12.009 - Pubmed
- 7. Lo WW, Solti-Bohman LG. High-resolution CT of the jugular foramen: anatomy and vascular variants and anomalies. (1984) Radiology. 150 (3): 743-7. doi:10.1148/radiology.150.3.6320256 - Pubmed
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