The Conchal Vascular Foramen of the Posterior Auricular Artery: Application to Conchal Cartilage Grafting.
Publication Title
The Kurume medical journal
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-30-2018
Keywords
anatomy; cadaver; ear auricle; ear cartilage; external carotid artery
Abstract
The posterior auricular artery (PAA), a branch of the external carotid artery, gives rise to a conchal network formed by PAA perforators through the conchal floor of the auricle. However, this branch and its entrance (foramen) to the anterior concha, is rarely illustrated in the literature and has not been studied in detail. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the morphology of the perforating artery (PA) and its vascular foramen (VF). Ten sides from five formalin-fixed frozen Caucasian cadaveric heads were used. The number, diameter of the VF, diameter of the perforating artery (PA), shape of the VF (circular or oval), distance from the middle of the tragus and origin of the artery were documented. The number of VF ranged from 1 to 2; one was seen on 90% of the sides and two were seen on 10% of the sides. The VF was oval in 36% of the sides and circular in the remaining 64%. The mean diameter of the long and short axes of the VF, and PA was 2.0±1.4 mm, 1.3±0.9 mm, and 0.7±0.4 mm, respectively. Diameter of the PA was 1.0 mm or greater in 18% of the sides. The mean distance from the middle of the tragus to the VF was 10.7±2.6 mm. The perforating artery of the concha originated from the posterior auricular artery on all 11 sides.
Area of Special Interest
Neurosciences (Brain & Spine)
Specialty/Research Institute
Neurosciences
Specialty/Research Institute
Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
