STUDY ON THE ANATOMICAL BASES FOR BLOCKING GLOSSOPHARYNGEAL NERVE

Objective:To provide anatomical materials for blocking glossopharyngeal nerve and preventing complications.Methods:35 adult head and neck samples were used in this study.The glossopharyngeal nerve was exposed and ascended to external aperture of the jugular foramen.The adjacent relations between glos- sopharyngeal nerve and ambient structures were carefully observed,and correlated data were measured.Results: The glossopharyngeal nerve left the cranial cavity through the jugular foramen along with vagus nerve,acces- sory nerve,inferior petrosal sinus and jugular vein.After it left the cranial cavity,the glossopharyngeal nerve had close relations with internal jugular artery,internal jugular vein,hypoglossal nerve,accessory nerve and vagus nerve.The depth of blocking glossopharyngeal nerve,that was the distance between the jugular foramen and the midpoint of angle of mandible and external acoustic foramen,was 22.33±1.98mm on the left and 22.45±2.03mm on the right;the blocking direction was inclined to the medial and superior and slightly anterior,and this direction had a 45～60°angle with the median sagittal plane.Confusions:This study can provide reliable anatomic data for blocking glossopharyngeal nerve and preventing complications.