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Anatomy of the normal human cochlear aqueduct with functional implications.

There is great variation in published descriptions of the shape, size, and patency of the human cochlear aqueduct. The first part of this paper describes the anatomy of the normal human cochlear aqueduct as determined from a study of 101 temporal bones. Nineteen bones aged 0-1 years and approximately 10 bones per decade of life until age 100 years were examined. The aqueduct was found to have a funnel shaped aperture at the cranial end with a dural sheath extending into it for a varying distance. The rest of the aqueduct was filled with a meshwork of loose connective tissue, often with a central lumen within it. Four types of patencies were noted: central lumen patent throughout length of aqueduct (34%), lumen filled with loose connective tissue (59%), lumen occluded by bone (4%), and obliteration of the aqueduct (3%). The mean value (+/- SD) of the narrowest portion was 138 (+/- 58) microns which occurred 200-300 microns from the cochlear end of the aqueduct. There was no correlation between age and narrowest diameter, or between age and category of patency. In the second part of this paper, we propose quantitative models of aqueduct function, based on measurements of ductal dimensions and known acoustical properties of the inner ear. Our model analyses suggest that in normal ears, the aqueduct (1) cannot support fluid flows large enough to explain stapedectomy gushers, (2) does filter out cardiac- and respiration-induced pulses in CSF and prevents them from affecting cochlear function, and (3) has little effect on normal ossicular transmission of sound for frequencies above 20 Hz. In pathological ears, such as those with ossicular disruption or after a type IV tympanoplasty, a patent aqueduct might affect hearing for frequencies below 150 Hz.

Acoustics↗

Role of perilymph in the early stage of serous otitis.

After injection of an electron-dense tracer into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) the particles can be seen within the lymphatic spaces of the middle ear mucosa after a few minutes. They find their way via the well known communication routes from CSF to the perilymphatic spaces of the inner ear. From there they enter through open fluid spaces into the fibrocytic network of the round window membrane which stands in open relationship to the extracellular fluid spaces of the middle ear mucosa. They were drained to the regional lymph nodes by lymphatic vessels. When inducing a serous otitis by experimental obstruction of the Eustachian tube it could be demonstrated that the fluid within the middle ear cavity is partly coming from the CSF and perilymph. Later the healing process of the middle ear epithelium was studied after the onset of serous otitis with and without artificial ventilation of the middle ear.

Animals↗

Protein distribution in the human perilymph. A comparative study between perilymph (post mortem), CSF and blood serum.

The large differences in the protein content of perilymph and serum as well as the perilymph volume limit of 10-15 microliter cause serious problems when collecting samples of uncontaminated perilymph in order to analyse its protein composition. In 8 out of 24 extremely carefully taken samples of perilymph removed during autopsy, we were able, by keeping to certain selection criteria, to carry out electrophoretic analyses which were suitable for reproduction and comparison. Comparison of human perilymph, CSF and serum, using SDS-Page and Western blotting, gave the expected agreement which had been suggested by tests on guinea pigs. However, a closer examination of individual proteins pointed to some relatively large differences in quantity and quality.

Animals↗

[Technics for postmortem removal of inner ear fluid].

Two methods for sampling inner ear fluid (a mixture of endolymph and perilymph) from corpses are described and compared. Using the classical method, a part of the petrous bone is chiselled out and, subsequently, a needle, attached to a 1-ml-syringe, is inserted through the oval foramen into the region of the utriculus. The inner ear fluid can then be removed. When the method proposed by Trela (1975) is applied, thin layers of the petrous crest are chiselled out until the common crus of the superior and posterior semi-circular becomes apparent. With a needle, attached to a 1-ml-syringe, the inner ear fluid can then be collected. The experiments show Trela's method to be simpler than the classical method. Moreover, only small amounts of inner ear fluid can be obtained by the latter technique. Trela's method is recommended for further studies on this fluid, which may be of forensic interest.

Cadaver↗

[Flow kinetics of the endolymph in caloric stimulation].

From our experiment in fluid mechanics there is strong evidence that caloric nystagmus is caused by streaming endolymph in weightlessness as well as by gravity. Two different mechanisms are postulated: thermoconvection (dependent on gravity and head position) and thermo-induced change in volume (independent of those two factors). Our results indicate that tangential endolymph flow in the ampulla directed from crista to cupula leads to a nystagmus towards the examined ear, whereas the adverse flow leads to a nystagmus to the other side. Depending on the head position the flow due to thermoconvection is increased or decreased by the flow due to extension. In mathematical approaches we found the flow due to the thermoconvection to be somewhat higher than that due to fluid extension, but still in the range of micron/s.

Caloric Tests↗

Aminotransferases in post-mortem cochlear fluids.

Aspartate and alanine aminotransferase (ASAT, ALAT) activities were measured in human post-mortem sera, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), perilymph and endolymph. Due to heart and/or liver morbidity during a terminal illness, the ASAT and ALAT serum activities were considerably increased as compared with normal and both were 20--30 times higher (p less than 0.001) than in CSF or inner ear fluids. CSF and inner ear fluids showed mutually similar values.

Alanine Transaminase↗