Vein of the Vestibular Aqueduct

Abstract

The vein of the vestibular aqueduct (VVA) was investigated in a series of 40 human temporal bones. The processing included vascular injection with a colored medium, decalcification and cutting in serial, thick sections, which were put in a clear fluid and studied with a stereo-microscope. The labyrinthine roots of the VVA are the single veins of the ampulla and simple limbs of the semicircular canals and of the posterior wall of the utricle. They drain the rich capillary bed of the simple endolymphatic walls of the canals and the utricle, as well as a small peripheral area of the cristae and the utricular macula. The VVA leaves the vestibule through an individual bone canal running parallel to the vestibular aqueduct up to the dura of the posterior side of the petrosa in the area of the endolymphatic sac. It then opens in the inferior petrosal sinus or the jugular bulb. The vein receives other branches from the bone, dura and sac. Correct information on the course of this vein appears to be lacking in contemporary textbooks and articles, although it has been correctly described since the last century.