Dorello's canal is the bow-shaped bony enclosure at the tip of the

temporal bone The temporal bones are situated at the sides and base of the skull, and lateral to the temporal lobes of the cerebral cortex. The temporal bones are overlaid by the sides of the head known as the temples, and house the structures of the ears. Th ...

. It surrounds the

abducens nerve The abducens nerve or abducent nerve, also known as the sixth cranial nerve, cranial nerve VI, or simply CN VI, is a cranial nerve in humans and various other animals that controls the movement of the lateral rectus muscle, one of the extraocula ...

(CN VI) and the

inferior petrosal sinus The inferior petrosal sinuses are two small sinuses situated on the inferior border of the petrous part of the temporal bone, one on each side. Each inferior petrosal sinus drains the cavernous sinus into the internal jugular vein. Structure The ...

as the two structures merge with the

cavernous sinus The cavernous sinus within the human head is one of the dural venous sinuses creating a cavity called the lateral sellar compartment bordered by the temporal bone of the skull and the sphenoid bone, lateral to the sella turcica. Structure The cave ...

Structure

Dorello's canal is a bow-shaped bony enclosure at the tip of the petrous part of the

. It is fairly short.

Dura mater In neuroanatomy, dura mater is a thick membrane made of dense irregular connective tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. It is the outermost of the three layers of membrane called the meninges that protect the central nervous system. ...

forms a sleeve within Dorello's canal, forming an outer wall. There may also be

arachnoid mater The arachnoid mater (or simply arachnoid) is one of the three meninges, the protective membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. It is so named because of its resemblance to a spider web. The arachnoid mater is a derivative of the neural c ...

. This contains the

(VI) and the

. The petrosphenoidal ligament (Gruber's ligament, or petroclinoidal ligament) forms the posteromedial wall of Dorello's canal.

Function

Dorello's canal allows for passage of the

(CN VI) and the

as they travel to merge with the

Clinical significance

Dorello's canal can entrap the

(CN VI) after cranial trauma.

History

Dorello's canal is named after the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

Primo Dorello, who proved the existence of this canal after a series of dissections. Gruber's ligament, which forms part of Dorello's canal, is named after the

Wenzel Leopold Gruber.

References

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External links