• Ruowei Tang, Zhengyu Zhang, Lei Zhao, Ning Xu, Qian Wu, Jing Xie, Pengfei Zhao, Hongxia Yin, Zhenghan Yang, and Zhenchang Wang.
• Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
• World Neurosurg. 2022 Dec 1; 168: e34e42e34-e42.

BackgroundTo visualize the course of the tympanic segment of chorda tympani nerve (CTN) using ultra-high-resolution computed tomography.MethodsA hundred and fourteen ears with no evident otologic pathologies were included. The tympanic segment of CTN was divided into 4 portions as follows: periannular, posteromalleal, malleal, and anteromalleal. The length of the periannular portion running along the tympanic annulus was recorded. Four points of interest (the beginning and end of the posteromalleal and anteromalleal portions) were selected to perform distance measurements relative to the tip of the malleus manubrium. Differences in lengths and distances were compared in terms of ear sides and sexes.ResultsThe length of the periannular portion was 2.49 ± 1.16 mm. The beginning of the posteromalleal portion was located more laterally on the right side than on the left side (mean: 4.09 mm vs. 3.92 mm;, P = 0.016). The end of the posteromalleal portion was located more inferiorly on the right (mean: 2.11 mm vs. 2.26 mm; P = 0.018). The beginning of the anteromalleal portion on the right was located more laterally than that on the left (mean: 2.60 mm vs. 2.45 mm; P = 0.027). The start and end of the anteromalleal portion were more posteriorly located in women than in men (both Ps < 0.001).ConclusionsThe course of the tympanic segment of normal CTN was comprehensively visualized by ultra-high-resolution computed tomography. Preoperative evaluation of the tympanic segment of CTN might be helpful in avoiding iatrogenic injury during middle ear surgery.Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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