| Bone: Internal auditory meatus | |
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| Left temporal bone. Inner surface. | |
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| Diagrammatic view of the fundus of the right internal acoustic meatus. | |
| Latin | meatus acusticus internus |
| Gray's | subject #34 143 |
The internal auditory meatus (also internal acoustic meatus, internal auditory canal, and internal acoustic canal) is a canal in the petrous bone of the temporal bone of the skull that carries nerves from inside the cranium towards the middle and inner ear compartments namely cranial nerve VII and cranial nerve VIII.
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Structure
The opening to the internal acoustic meatus is located inside the cranial cavity, near the center of the posterior surface of the petrous bone. The size varies considerably; its margins are smooth and rounded. The canal is short (about 1 cm) and runs laterally into the bone. At its end are the openings for three different canals, one of which is the facial canal.
Unlike the external acoustic meatus, the internal acoustic meatus does not transmit sound waves. It instead transmits the facial and vestibulocochlear nerves and the labyrinthine artery (an internal auditory branch of the basilar artery). The facial nerve travels through the facial canal, eventually exiting the skull at the stylomastoid foramen.
The opening of the meatus is called the porus acusticus internus, or its English translation, the internal acoustic opening.
Additional images
 Temporal bone at birth. Inner aspect. |
 Base of the skull. Upper surface. |
 Horizontal section through left ear; upper half of section. |
 The cochlea and vestibule, viewed from above. |
See also
External links
- SUNY Figs 30:01-08
- cranialnerves at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University) (VII)
- Diagram of Porus acusticus internus
- Diagram of Porus acusticus internus
This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.
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