Morphological analysis of the vestibular aqueduct by computed tomographic images

Objective In the last 2 decades, advances in the computed tomography (CT) field revise the internal and medium ear evaluation. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyze the morphology and morphometric aspects of the vestibular aqueduct on the basis of CT images. Materials and methods Computed tomographic images of vestibular aqueducts were acquired from patients (n=110) with an age range of 1–92 years. Thereafter, from the vestibular aqueduct images, a morphometric analysis was performed. Through a computerized image processing system, the vestibular aqueduct measurements comprised of its area, external opening, length, and the distance from the vestibular aqueduct to the internal acoustic meatus. Results The morphology of the vestibular aqueduct may be funnel-shaped, filiform, or tubular, and the respective proportions were found to be at 44%, 33%, and 22% in children and 21.7%, 53.3%, and 25% in adults. The morphometric data showed to be of 4.86 mm2 of area, 2.24 mm of the external opening, 4.73 mm of length, and 11.88 mm of the distance from the vestibular aqueduct to the internal acoustic meatus in children, and in adults, 4.93 mm2, 2.09 mm, 4.44 mm, and 11.35 mm, respectively. Conclusions Computed tomography showed that the vestibular aqueduct presents high morphological variability. The morphometric analysis showed that the differences found between groups of children and adults or between groups of both genders were not statistically significant.