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Updated: Aug 23, 2025
Facial Nerve Surgery in the Rat Model to Study Axonal Inhibition and Regeneration
Published on: May 5, 2020
Anatomical description of the extratemporal facial nerve under high-definition system: a microsurgical study in rats
Marcela Maria Rabelo Pinto1, Deivid Ramos Dos Santos1, Lívia Guerreiro de Barros Bentes2
1MD, Fellow Master Degree. Universidade do Estado do Pará - Postgraduate Program in Surgery and Experimental Research Medicine - Department of Experimental Surgery - Belem (PA), Brazil.
Purpose:
To describe the microsurgical anatomical aspects of the extratemporal facial nerve of Wistar rats under a high-definition video system.
Methods:
Ten male Wistar rats (12-15 weeks old), without veterinary diseases, weighing 220-280 g, were used in this study. All animals in this study were submitted to the same protocol and by the same surgeon. A 10-mm incision was made below the bony prominence of the right or left ear, and extended towards the angle of the mandible. The dissection was performed and the main branches of the facial nerve were dissected.
Results:
The main trunk of the facial nerve has a length of 0.88 ± 0.10 mm and a length of 3.81 ± 1.03 mm, measured from its emergence from the stylomastoid foramen to its bifurcation. Seven branches originating from the facial nerve were identified: posterior auricular, posterior cervical, cervical, mandibular, buccal, temporal, and zygomatic.
Conclusions:
The anatomy of the facial nerve is comparable to that of humans, with some variations. The most observed anatomical division was the distribution in posterior auricular, posterior cervical, cervical, mandibular, buccal, temporal, and zygomatic branches. There is no statistical difference between the thickness and distance of the structures compared to the contralateral side.
