Superior laryngeal nerve anatomy in corpses not preserved in formaldehyde: contribution to the operative technique

PURPOSE: To carry out an anatomic study of superior laryngeal nerve in not preserved in formaldehyde and not frozen corpses. METHODS: Thirty-eight male corpses from the Minas Gerais Medico-legal Institute (IML) were studied. In 18 corpses dissection was performed bilaterally and in 20 only on the left side, total number 56 nerves dissected. Their descriptive segments measurements and the anatomic relations with the cervical structures of the region were described. This nerve was statistically analyzed; the variables were corpse side (Friedman´s test (p<0.05), height (Pearson), racial group (Kruskal-Wallis). RESULTS: The superior laryngeal nerve presented a definite anatomical disposition in all the 56 nerves studied, emerging from the nervus vagus inferior ganglion. The superior laryngeal nerve trunk was in average longer in corpses over 25 years old (p<0.05). Significant differences (p<0.05) between the internal and external branches were observed in all racial groups, and the internal branch average was inferior to the external branch average. There were not significant differences between the 18 studied corpses' left and right sides paired measurements. CONCLUSIONS: Concerning emergence, trunk, bifurcation and major branches, the 56 studied nerves disposition had a definite anatomic pattern. The superior laryngeal nerve trunk was in average longer in corpses over 25 years old. In this study, the external branch of the laryngeal nerve was in average longer than the internal branch.