The horizontal semicircular canal of squirrel monkeys was irradiated unilaterally with either an argon or carbon dioxide laser. Postoperatively, there was a small but significant reduction in caloric-induced ENG responses to 45 degrees thermal stimulation. The principal morphologic effect of laser irradiation was a plug of fibrous tissue or new bone within the lumen of the lesioned semicircular canal.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Temperature characteristics of squirrel monkey horizontal semicircular canals during caloric irrigation.

Current assumptions concerning body temperature of experimental animals, particularly as it relates to the selection of caloric test stimuli, are likely to be inaccurate guesses. Although the temporal bone of squirrel monkeys attenuates irrigation temperature by a factor of nearly 10, there is a high correlation between thermal changes in inner ear fluid and irrigation values. In this study, nystagmus (defined by electronystagmographic thresholds) occurred when horizontal canal temperatures deviated from resting temperature by +/- 0.14 C.

Animals↗