Temporal canals

1.      Canalis nervi facialis – begins at the bottom of internal acoustic meatus and ends in
stylomastoid foramen; (facial nerve)

The bottom of internal acoustic meatus:

Medial
side
                    Lateral side

Facial nerve area
Superior vestibular area





Transversal crest


                             Cochlear
area                                                                         Singular foramen

                                                                   Inferior vestibular area

-     The canal has three parts:

-     1. After the canal began at bottom of internal acoustic meatus it goes upright to the
longitudinal axis of pyramis (there goes out the branch called greater petrosal nerve).

-     2. Near the greater petrosal nerve hiatus it turns to the lateral side and goes at the medial
wall of middle ear cavity. Then the canal is located at the dorsal wall of middle ear cavity.
(paralel with the longitudinal axis)

-     3. The last part of facial canal turns downwards and ends in stylomastoid foramen.


Canaliculus chordae tympani – chorda tympani is branch of facial nerve and begins in the 3^rd part
of facial canal and ends in petrotympanic fissure; (chorda tympani)

Carotid canal (canalis caroticus) – it starts at inferior surface of pyramis in external aperture
of carotid canal;- it has sigmoid shape (because the blood pressure is too high for nerve tissue,
it could cause demage of brain. So that the function of this canal is to reduce blood pressure
before the blood enters to the brain);-ends at the top of pyramis (internal aperture of carotid
canal); (internal carotid artery)

Caroticotympanic canaliculi (canaliculi caroticotympanici) – they start within the carotid canal
(first curvature) and end in the middle ear cavity ; (carotycotympanic nerves)

Mastoid canaliculus (canaliculus mastoideus) - starts at the bottom of jugular fossa and ends in
tympanomastoid fissure; (auricular branch of vagus nerve)

 Tympanic canaliculus (canaliculus tympanicus) - starts at the bottom of fossula petrosa (between
the jugular fossa and external aperture of carotid canal), it goes through the middle ear cavity
and  ends in lesser petrosal hiatus; (tympanic nerveàlesser petrosal nerve)


Musculotubarius canal (canalis musculotubarius) – begins at the top of pyramis more ventraly than
the internal aperture of carotid canal; is devided by the septum canalis musculotubarii into two
levels: upper (semicanalis musculi tensoris tympani) and lower (semicanalis tubae auditivae); ends
in middle ear cavity;(tensor tympani muscle and Eustachian tube)

superior


semicanalis musculi tensoris tympani



septum canalis musculotubarii


semicanalis tubae auditivae

                                              inferior

Vestibular canaliculus (canaliculus vestibuli) – this canaliculus is for endolymfa drainage;it
starts in the inner ear and ends at the posterior surface of pyramis in external aperture of
aqueductus vestibuli

Cochlear canaliculus (canaliculus cochleae) -  this canaliculus is for perilymfa drainage; it
starts in the inner ear and ends in external aperture of cochlear canaliculus