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Human endolymphatic sac: possible mechanisms of pressure regulation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2007

Phillip Ashley Wackym*
Affiliation:
Division of Head and Neck Surgery (Otolaryngology), UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles (Dr. Wackym); House Ear Institute, Los Angeles (Drs. Wackym, Friedmann and Linthicum); Department of Otolaryngology, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden (Drs. Friberg and Rask-Andersen); and the Department of Otolaryngology, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden (Dr. Bagger-Sjöbäck).
Ulla Friberg
Affiliation:
Division of Head and Neck Surgery (Otolaryngology), UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles (Dr. Wackym); House Ear Institute, Los Angeles (Drs. Wackym, Friedmann and Linthicum); Department of Otolaryngology, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden (Drs. Friberg and Rask-Andersen); and the Department of Otolaryngology, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden (Dr. Bagger-Sjöbäck).
Dan Bagger-Sjöbäck
Affiliation:
Division of Head and Neck Surgery (Otolaryngology), UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles (Dr. Wackym); House Ear Institute, Los Angeles (Drs. Wackym, Friedmann and Linthicum); Department of Otolaryngology, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden (Drs. Friberg and Rask-Andersen); and the Department of Otolaryngology, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden (Dr. Bagger-Sjöbäck).
Fred H. Linthicum Jr
Affiliation:
Division of Head and Neck Surgery (Otolaryngology), UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles (Dr. Wackym); House Ear Institute, Los Angeles (Drs. Wackym, Friedmann and Linthicum); Department of Otolaryngology, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden (Drs. Friberg and Rask-Andersen); and the Department of Otolaryngology, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden (Dr. Bagger-Sjöbäck).
Imrich Friedmann
Affiliation:
Division of Head and Neck Surgery (Otolaryngology), UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles (Dr. Wackym); House Ear Institute, Los Angeles (Drs. Wackym, Friedmann and Linthicum); Department of Otolaryngology, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden (Drs. Friberg and Rask-Andersen); and the Department of Otolaryngology, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden (Dr. Bagger-Sjöbäck).
Helge Rask-Andersen
Affiliation:
Division of Head and Neck Surgery (Otolaryngology), UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles (Dr. Wackym); House Ear Institute, Los Angeles (Drs. Wackym, Friedmann and Linthicum); Department of Otolaryngology, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden (Drs. Friberg and Rask-Andersen); and the Department of Otolaryngology, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden (Dr. Bagger-Sjöbäck).
*
Phillip Ashley Wackym, M.D., A7-130 CHS, UCLA Hospital, Los Angeles, California 90024, U.S.A.

Abstract

The ultrastructure of the normal human endolymphatic sac (ES) has been observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The role of the epithelium, the various regions of the subepithelial space and the general anatomy of the ES in pressure regulation were morphologically studied to generate testable hypotheses of human ES function. Light microscopic (LM) and TEM evidence of pressure regulatory mechanisms by endolymph resorption, mechanical factors, and secretory activity are presented. These mechanisms may be useful in designing experimental studies of the ES, and in interpretation of retrospective LM and TEM studies of patients with Meniere's disease.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 1987

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