title: Anastomosis between both hypoglossal nerves in a 30 mm human embryo.
abstract: In this paper we present the first description of an anastomosis between both hypoglossal nerves during the embryonic period, a very uncommon anatomical variation. This was observed in a 30 mm crown-rump (C-R) length human embryo (Carnegie stage 23) from the Bellaterra Collection (Prof. Doménech Mateu), stained for nerve fibers. The anastomosis consisted of a large diameter trunk (36.7 microns) situated in front of and slightly below the hyoid cartilage, and clearly distinguishable from the anastomosis found in adults, which has a very fine diameter and is located in the suprahyoid region.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gonzalez-Compta
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Domenech-Mateu
mesh_terms: D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D007002:Hypoglossal Nerve / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000196:embryology* / Q000502:physiology