Internal auditory meatus
4068986
211080551
2008-05-08T18:27:42Z
Uwe Gille
211241
/* External links */ +de
{{Infobox Bone |
Name = Internal auditory meatus |
Latin = meatus acusticus internus |
GraySubject = 34 |
GrayPage = 143 |
Image = Gray138.png |
Caption = Left [[temporal bone]]. Inner surface. |
Image2 = Gray140.png |
Caption2 = Diagrammatic view of the fundus of the right internal acoustic meatus. |
System = |
MeshName = |
MeshNumber = |
DorlandsPre = m_06 |
DorlandsSuf = 12518154 |
}}
The '''internal acoustic meatus''' (also '''internal auditory meatus''') is a canal in the [[temporal bone]] of the skull that carries nerves from inside the cranium towards the middle and inner ear compartments.
==Structure==
The opening to the internal acoustic meatus is located inside the cranial cavity, near the center of the posterior surface of the [[temporal bone]]. The size varies considerably; its margins are smooth and rounded. The canal is short (about 1 cm) and runs laterally into the bone. At its end are the openings for three different canals, one of which is the [[facial canal]].
Unlike the [[external acoustic meatus]], the internal acoustic meatus does not transmit sound waves. It instead transmits the [[facial nerve|facial]] and [[vestibulocochlear nerve]]s and the [[labyrinthine artery]] (an internal auditory branch of the [[basilar artery]]). The facial nerve travels through the [[facial canal]], eventually exiting the skull at the [[stylomastoid foramen]].
The opening of the meatus is called the '''porus acusticus internus''', or its English translation, the '''internal acoustic opening'''.
==Additional images==
<gallery>
Image:Gray144.png|Temporal bone at birth. Inner aspect.
Image:Gray193.png|Base of the skull. Upper surface.
Image:Gray908.png|Horizontal section through left ear; upper half of section.
Image:Gray923.png|The cochlea and vestibule, viewed from above.
</gallery>
==See also==
* [[External auditory meatus]]
==References==
* {{Dorlands|p_30|12660414}}
==External links==
* {{SUNYAnatomyFigs|30|01|08}}
* {{NormanAnatomy|cranialnerves}} ({{NormanAnatomyFig|VII}})
* [http://www.uni-mainz.de/FB/Medizin/Anatomie/makro1/t112ii.htm Diagram of Porus acusticus internus]
* [http://www.bcm.edu/oto/studs/fn.html Diagram of Porus acusticus internus]
{{Gray's}}
{{Skull}}
{{Foramina of skull}}
[[Category:Foramina of the skull]]
{{musculoskeletal-stub}}
[[de:Innerer Gehörgang]]