Facial nerve disorders: anatomical, histological and clinical aspects

Three main problems of facial nerve pathology and surgery are considered in this paper. The intraneural anatomy of the facial nerve with its consequences for surgery, especially surgery for facial hyperkinesia, is studied and an original method of selective funicular neurolysis is proposed as a symptomatic operation. Quantitative and qualitative findings in the normal facial nerve are compared to findings in nerves after palsy. The results show that the introduction of neurometric methods for the quantitative assessment may yield further parameters in the judgement of past pathological processes within the nerve. Finally, prognosis of peripheral facial palsy, seen through electrophysiological testing methods, is discussed.