Cochlear Fluid Spaces and Structures of the Gerbil High-Frequency Region Measured Using Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT).

ABSTRACT: Since it has been difficult to directly observe the morphology of the living cochlea, our ability to infer the mechanical functioning of the living ear has been limited. Nearly all our knowledge about cochlear morphology comes from postmortem tissue that was fixed and processed using procedures that possibly distort the structures and fluid spaces of the organ of Corti. In this study, optical coherence tomography was employed to obtain volumetric images of the high-frequency hook region of the gerbil cochlea, as viewed through the round window, with far better resolution capability than had been possible before. The anatomical structures and fluid spaces of the organ of Corti were segmented and quantified in vivo and over a 90-min postmortem period. We find that the arcuate-zone and pectin

SUBMITTER: Cho NH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8964889 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature