An anatomic study of the hypotympanic branch of Jacobson's nerve.
Microscopic dissection of 20 human temporal bones revealed that the nerve of Jacobson gave rise to a hypotympanic branch in 50% of the specimens. The fact that the branch was frequently covered by promontory bone and was difficult to approach by the standard tympanotomy technique may explain the 21% failure rate as reported in the literature.
D005930:Glossopharyngeal Nerve / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D010306:Parotid Gland / Q000294:innervation; D013701:Temporal Bone / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000294:innervation