Features of Structural Organization of The Human Facial Nerve

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the intra-trunk structure of the facial nerve at different age periods.
Study Design: Cross-sectional comparative study
Place and Duration of Study: The data was collected from forensic morgues and clinical hospitals, as well as maternity hospitals in Baku, along with specimens from the primary museum collection of the Department of Human Anatomy. The study was conducted from November 2021 to May 2024.
Materials and Methods: Facial nerves were studied in corpses of those who died suddenly or because of various injuries, i.e. practically healthy people. The microscopic anatomy of the facial nerve was examined in 126 samples. To analyze the internal structure of the facial nerve, from trunk of the facial nerve were collected. Age groups – from fetus to old age. Araldite-Epon blocks were created from these samples following standard electron microscopy procedures. Quantitative indicators obtained during the research were conducted in the IBM Statistics SPSS-26 program with the application of variation and dispersion methods.
Results: The results of the research show that the facial nerve at the level of the stylomastoid foramen of an adult person has a diameter that fluctuates on the right within the range of 1697.4±51.1 µm, and on the left 1630.4±56.1 µm. This indicator is quite stable and changes little throughout a person's mature age. In crosssection, the nerve has an oval or irregular shape. The determining factors can be considered manifestations of asymmetry, individual and age-related variability.
Conclusion: The data obtained allow us to consider that the entire complex of morphological and functional restructuring of the facial nerve represents only individual links in the dynamics regarding the structural organization of the human peripheral nervous system.