Right superior view of exposed internal auditory canal. Bony removal of the roof of the internal auditory canal reveals the facial nerve, the geniculate ganglion, the greater superficial petrosal nerve, the labyrinthine and tympanic segments of the facial nerve, and the superior vestibular nerve. These structures are located between the cochlea and labyrinth of semicircular canals (lateral, superior, posterior). The tegmen has been removed to expose the malleus and incus bones and the middle meningeal artery is shown emerging through the foramen spinosum. (Image courtesy of AL Rhoton, Jr.)