Chapter 2: Anatomy of the facial nerve

This issue of the American Journal of Otology includes the second of a series of articles on facial nerve disorders, which collectively are known as the 'Facial Nerve Manual_. In the early 1980s, Dr. Mark May chaired the AAO-HNS Facial Nerve Committee and organized the Facial Nerve Study Group. One of the tasks he initiated was the creation of a Facial Nerve Manual, assigned to a small group of clinicians at the COSM Meeting in the Spring of 1984. The purpose of this work was to disseminate practical information on management of selected facial nerve problems, one of the primary charges of the committee. Work began slowly but surely. During Dr. Gale Gardner's tenture as committee chairman, manuscripts were reviewed and edited by Dr. Nels Olson, and the American Journal of Otology agreed to publish the manual. Perhaps more than anyone else, Dr. Olson worked tirelessly to create a finished product of consistent style and content. Of course, even since the original writing and editing, controversial topics continue to change; for example, the author of 'Prognostic Testing' now feels that electroneurography is the only sufficiently sensitive prognostic test to determine the need for possible surgery for Bell's palsy. As each 'chapter' is published individually over the next year, other concepts may change, and the reader is encouraged to explore these issues in more depth. Drs. May, Gardner, Olson and the individual authors are congratulated for their efforts. The Committee sincerely thanks the American Journal of Otology for supporting this work.