THE RECURRENT LARYNGEAL NERVE - RELATED VASCULAR ANATOMY

This study was based on 34 recurrent laryngeal nerve dissections after arterial casting with red-colored latex. The aim was to provide speci fic information about the perineural microvasculature. This study esta blished the following points: 1. a great anatomic variability does exi st; 2. the laryngeal nerve is usually in relation to the posterior bra nch of the inferior thyroid artery; and 3. this vascular branch is som etimes replaced with a vascular network, In all cases, this microvascu larization must be preserved during thyroid surgery.