ANATOMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PTERYGOPALATINE GANGLION AND ITS BRANCHES AT DIFFERENT AGE PERIODS

Abstract

The article presents the results of a study conducted to examine the topography, external, and internal structure of the pterygopalatine ganglion at various age periods. The study was carried out on 50 cadavers (342 specimens) of different age groups (from 5-month-old fetuses to old age), and the nerves extending from it. The study demonstrated that in 43.2% of cases, the pterygopalatine ganglion is located in the center of the pterygopalatine fossa, in 27.4% of cases on the posterior surface of the maxillary bone, and in 29.4% within the pterygoid canal. Thus, in children in the first year of life, polygonal cells are found, the protoplasm of which is completely filled with chromatophilic substance, consisting of small grains. In adolescence, cells with coneshaped outgrowths with thin processes extending from them are found. In the mature period, all the described forms of neurons are observed, except cells with a cone-shaped outgrowth. The cross-sectional area of all examined nerves studied is constantly increasing both during pre- and postnatal ontogenesis. This process occurs synchronously. In older individuals, an increase in the content of connective tissue in the nerves is noted.