[The width of the internal auditory meatus in Bell's palsy. A radiological-tomographical study (author's transl)].

44 patients with ischemic facial paralysis were studied and tomograms made of both petrous bones. An attempt was made to establish the normal averages of various portions of the internal auditory meatus (fundus, middle, porus) from frontal projections. In addition, a comparison of each portion of the internal auditory meatus was made between diseased and healthy sides. Of patients studied, one third showed a narrowing of the internal auditory meatus on the involved side. A correlation between narrowing of the bony internal auditory meatus and the occurrence of an ischemic facial paralysis could not be established. However, such cannot be totally excluded as a contributing factor in the origin of a Bell's palsy.