Vestibular aqueduct

Vestibular aqueduct
Interior of right osseous labyrinth.
File:Gray923.png The cochlea and vestibule, viewed from above. (Aqueductus vestibuli labeled at bottom right.)
Details
Latin	Aquaeductus vestibuli
Identifiers
MeSH	A09.246.631.909.957
Dorlands /Elsevier	a_55/12148745
TA
TH	{{#property:P1694}}
TE	{{#property:P1693}}
FMA	{{#property:P1402}}
Anatomical terminology [[[d:|edit on Wikidata]]]

At the hinder part of the medial wall of the vestibule is the orifice of the vestibular aqueduct, which extends to the posterior surface of the petrous portion of the temporal bone.

It transmits a small vein, and contains a tubular prolongation of the membranous labyrinth, the ductus endolymphaticus, which ends in a cul-de-sac between the layers of the dura mater within the cranial cavity.

Pathology

Enlargement of the vestibular aqueduct to greater than 2 mm is associated with enlarged vestibular aqueduct syndrome, a disease entity that is associated with one-sided hearing loss in children. The diagnosis can be made by high resolution CT or MRI, with comparison to the adjacent posterior semicircular canal. If the vestibular aqueduct is larger in size, and the clinical presentation is consistent, the diagnosis can be made. Treatment is with mechanical hearing implants. There is an association with Pendred syndrome and incomplete cochlear partition (so called "Mondini dysplasia").

Additional images

• Gray193.png

  Base of the skull. Upper surface.

• 

  Temporal bone

References

This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)