Topography and morphometry of the subarcuate canal

Abstract

The current study shows in a close-up view anatomical relationship between the subarcuate canal and the osseous labyrinth. For this purpose we used micro-computed tomography which allowed performing three-dimensional reconstruction of the subarcuate canal and gave adequate data for estimation its diameter across its course. The diameter of the middle part (the most uniform) of the subarcuate canal varied from 0.28 mm to 0.46 mm. Hence, we calculated the centre of mass for each cross-section of the separated subarcuate canal. This procedure helped us to visualise trajectory of the subarcuate canal and its spatial orientation within the petrous bone. From our data we concluded that subarcuate canals revealed not well defined trajectories and their spatial orientation varied across the studied temporal bones.