title: Recurrent laryngeal nerve and the posterior fascial attachment of the thyroid gland.
abstract: An investigation based on dissection of cadaveric specimens was undertaken to obtain additional data on the relationships between the recurrent laryngeal nerve and the posterior fascial attachment of the thyroid gland. Ninety-four dissections were selected for detailed study. The posterior fascial attachment on each side was found to form two bands--a vertical band described previously and a horizontal band. The horizontal band was found to be present in all cases and to be constant in position. The posterior edge of the horizontal band followed posteriorly leads to the recurrent laryngeal nerve. The nerve always had a close relationship to the horizontal band and was often adherent to it. It is suggested that the use of the horizontal band to locate the recurrent laryngeal nerve would be of particular value when the inferior thyroid artery is absent, when the nerve is non-recurrent on the right side, or when there is distortion of the normal anatomy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Salama
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: McGrath
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005205:Fascia / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012009:Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D013965:Thyroidectomy