INVESTIGACIONES ANATÓMICAS E HISTOLOGICAS SOBRE LA BOLSA GUTURAL DEL EQUINO (Diverticulum tubae auditivae) - OBSERVACIONES CLINICAS

Abstract

The guttural pouches of the horse are convexities of the paired auditory tuba. Each guttural pouch is built of a greater medial and a smaller lateral compartment. The neurovascular fold (Plica neurovasculosa) and the nervous fold (Plica accessoria neuralis) are situated in the caudal area of the
medial compartment. These folds contain the following structures: the glossopharyngeal nerve, the vagal nerve, the accessorial nerve, the hypoglossal nerve, the sympathetic trunk with the cranial cervical ganglion and the internal carotid artery. This aim of this research was to study the guttural pouch and the related neurovascular structures, which is of a great clinical interest. A skull and four horse heads, which were subjected to median-sagittal sections, were used. One horse head (of a small horse of 350 kg) was used for the production of E12 plastinated slices, 2 mm thin, transparent and hard, with
good optical qualities at microscopic level. In the guttural pouch, the Plica neurovasculosa in the medial compartment, containing the glossopharyngeal nerve, the vagal nerve, the accessorial nerve, the hypoglossal nerve, the sympathetic trunk with the cranial cervical ganglion and the internal carotid
artery could be observed. The Plica neurovasculosa bifurcate rostral into the Plica accessoria neuralis containing the glossopharyngeal and hypoglossal nerve. It was concluded that the guttural pouch is of great importance in diseases that affect the respiratory tract. The inflammation of the mucosa through
fungal infection could erode arterial walls but also cause nervous irritation during infectious diseases, leading to different symptoms. The names of the Plica neurovasculosa, Plica accesoria neuralis and Plica oclusiva should be included into the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria, as they are very important structures for planning minimally invasive surgery.