TY - JOUR
T1 - Detailed anatomical study of the peripheral motor branches of the facial nerve in the swine model
T2 - A novel investigative approach for facial paralysis research
AU - Millesi, Elena
AU - Suchyta, Marissa
AU - Lachman, Nirusha
AU - Wang, Huan
AU - Mardini, Samir
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons
PY - 2023/8
Y1 - 2023/8
N2 - Introduction: Large animal models aid in innovating surgical approaches and developing medical devices for the treatment of facial paralysis. However, there is a lack of information on facial nerve anatomy in swine. This study aimed to investigate the branching pattern and histologic characteristics of the swine facial nerve, thereby establishing the anatomical patterns of preclinical models in facial paralysis research. Material and methods: The five peripheral motor branches of the facial nerve were dissected in 30 hemifaces of fresh swine cadavers. Starting at the stylomastoid foramen, the course, branching pattern, and diameter of each motor branch was recorded. Samples were taken at the start of each branch for epoxy embedding, toluidine blue staining, and histomorphologic analysis. Results: The dissections demonstrated consistent anatomy of the buccal and marginal mandibular branches in contrast to the temporal and zygomatic branches, which showed more variation in branching patterns. The buccal branch had the largest mean diameter of 1.34 mm (± 0.26 mm), whereas the marginal mandibular branch had the largest fascicular area of 0.558 mm2 (± 0.12 mm2) and highest axon count of 3636.35 (± 526.36). The zygomatic branch had both the smallest diameter of 0.74 mm (± 0.25 mm) and fascicular area of 0.187 mm2 (± 0.14 mm2). Conclusions: The swine facial nerve is anatomically similar to the human facial nerve, making the pig a suitable large animal model. Detailed anatomical and histological information is crucial for developing preclinical models of novel facial nerve reconstruction approaches.
AB - Introduction: Large animal models aid in innovating surgical approaches and developing medical devices for the treatment of facial paralysis. However, there is a lack of information on facial nerve anatomy in swine. This study aimed to investigate the branching pattern and histologic characteristics of the swine facial nerve, thereby establishing the anatomical patterns of preclinical models in facial paralysis research. Material and methods: The five peripheral motor branches of the facial nerve were dissected in 30 hemifaces of fresh swine cadavers. Starting at the stylomastoid foramen, the course, branching pattern, and diameter of each motor branch was recorded. Samples were taken at the start of each branch for epoxy embedding, toluidine blue staining, and histomorphologic analysis. Results: The dissections demonstrated consistent anatomy of the buccal and marginal mandibular branches in contrast to the temporal and zygomatic branches, which showed more variation in branching patterns. The buccal branch had the largest mean diameter of 1.34 mm (± 0.26 mm), whereas the marginal mandibular branch had the largest fascicular area of 0.558 mm2 (± 0.12 mm2) and highest axon count of 3636.35 (± 526.36). The zygomatic branch had both the smallest diameter of 0.74 mm (± 0.25 mm) and fascicular area of 0.187 mm2 (± 0.14 mm2). Conclusions: The swine facial nerve is anatomically similar to the human facial nerve, making the pig a suitable large animal model. Detailed anatomical and histological information is crucial for developing preclinical models of novel facial nerve reconstruction approaches.
KW - Anatomy
KW - Branching pattern
KW - Facial nerve
KW - Histomorphometry
KW - Motor branch
KW - Swine
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U2 - 10.1016/j.bjps.2023.04.076
DO - 10.1016/j.bjps.2023.04.076
M3 - Article
C2 - 37276737
AN - SCOPUS:85160637824
SN - 1748-6815
VL - 83
SP - 180
EP - 188
JO - Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery
JF - Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery
ER -