ANASTOMOSIS BETWEEN BOTH HYPOGLOSSAL NERVES IN A 30 MM HUMAN EMBRYO

In this paper we present the first description of an anastomosis betwe en both hypoglossal nerves during the embryonic period, a very uncommo n anatomical variation. This was observed in a 30 mm crown-rump (C-R) length human embryo (Carnegie stage 23) from the Bellaterra Collection (Prof. Domenech Mateu), stained for nerve fibers. The anastomosis con sisted of a large diameter trunk (36.7 mu m) situated in front of and slightly below the hyoid cartilage, and clearly distinguishable from t he anastomosis found in adults, which has a very fine diameter and is located in the suprahyoid region.