IMAGING OF THE FACIAL CANAL BY MEANS OF MULTIPLANAR ANGULATED 2-D-HIGH-RESOLUTION CT-RECONSTRUCTION

The facial canal containing the intratemporal portion of the facial ne rve is very important for the otologist and radiologist concerning fra ctures and other lesions of the temporal bone. Axial and/or coronal st andards are sufficient for imaging of the labyrinthine and the mastoid al segment of the facial canal. The sensitivity of visualization (sens itivity = number of identified structures per number of examinations) of the tympanic segment, however, is low and particularly the pyramida l segment (elbow, posterior knee) is not visualized in these standards . Based on anatomical considerations a new plain for imaging both the tympanic and mastoidal segment in continuity was obtained. The pyramid o-longitudinal plain is achieved by a twice angulated 2-D-reconstructi on based on axial high-resolution CT-scans.