Question:medium
Where is the placement location for an auditory brainstem implant?
Where is the placement location for an auditory brainstem implant?
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The ABI must reach the cochlear nucleus in the brainstem.
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
- Scala tympani
- Recess of the 4th ventricle
- Internal auditory canal (IAC)
- Back of the ear
Show Solution
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Define the implant's job. Unlike a cochlear implant, an auditory brainstem implant skips the cochlea and cochlear nerve entirely and feeds signals straight to the cochlear nucleus in the brainstem.
Step 2: Recall who needs it. It is offered to NF2 patients who lose cochlear nerve function after acoustic tumour removal and to children born with absent or malformed cochleae or cochlear nerves.
Step 3: Pinpoint the site. To reach the cochlear nucleus, the surgeon lays the electrode array in the lateral recess of the fourth ventricle, typically during the same operation that removes the tumour.
Step 4: Reject the others. A cochlear implant array goes into the scala tympani; the internal auditory canal merely transmits the nerve; and the post-auricular area holds only the external speech processor. Hence the recess of the fourth ventricle is correct.
\[\boxed{\text{Recess of the 4th ventricle}}\]
Step 2: Recall who needs it. It is offered to NF2 patients who lose cochlear nerve function after acoustic tumour removal and to children born with absent or malformed cochleae or cochlear nerves.
Step 3: Pinpoint the site. To reach the cochlear nucleus, the surgeon lays the electrode array in the lateral recess of the fourth ventricle, typically during the same operation that removes the tumour.
Step 4: Reject the others. A cochlear implant array goes into the scala tympani; the internal auditory canal merely transmits the nerve; and the post-auricular area holds only the external speech processor. Hence the recess of the fourth ventricle is correct.
\[\boxed{\text{Recess of the 4th ventricle}}\]
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