[Arteriographic exploration of the intrapetrous facial nerve: embryology and normal radiologic anatomy (author's transl)].

The normal development of the hyoidostapedial system and its branches and anastomosis are outlined. The intrapetrous facial nerve receives its arterial suplly from the network. The arterial arch of the facial nerve is seen more frequently in angiograms of infants than in those of adults. The fact that the same vessel supplies the VIIth and the Vth nerves suggests that an ischemic mechanism may frequently be involved in Bell's palsy. The facial nerve from the point of view of its arterial supply must be considered as a nerve of the middle fossa and represent the major risk of embolization in the propinal middle meningeal artery.