IS WHITNALLS LIGAMENT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CURVED COURSE OF THE LEVATOR PALPEBRAE SUPERIORIS MUSCLE

Background and Purpose: The levator palpebrae superioris (LPS) muscle courses anteriosuperiorly to culminate cranial to the posteriosuperior surface of the globe from where it courses anterioinferiorly to the t arsal plate. Whitnall's superior transverse ligament (STL) has been su ggested to suspend the LPS at its culmination. If this was the case, o ne would expect the STL to be located near the culmination of the LPS. In order to elucidate this functional aspect of the STL, the spatial relation of the STL to the LPS muscle is investigated in this study. M ethods: Surface coil MRI in an oblique sagittal plane along the optic nerve was performed in 6 orbits from 3 human cadavers in which the STL was marked with synthetic material. Results: The MR images showed tha t in human cadaver specimens the STL is situated in the anterior desce nding portion of the LPS, Conclusion: This result suggests that the ST L does not suspend the LPS at its culmination and is therefore not res ponsible for the curved course of the muscle.