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The three-dimensional fibrillar arrangement of the basilar membrane in the mouse cochlea

The three-dimensional fibrillar arrangement of the basilar membrane in the mouse cochlea was studied using scanning electron microscopy. Fibrils of the basilar membrane were exposed by removing cellular elements of the cochlea using a sodium hydroxide maceration technique. The arrangement of fibrils in the basilar membrane was different between the pars arcuata and pars pectinata. In the pars arcuata, fibrils were arranged in radial and spiral direction, showing a woven pattern. In the pars pectinata, most of the fibrils ran in the radial direction. These findings suggest that the vibration pattern of the pars arcuata and pars pectinata is different when the basilar membrane vibrates.

Spiral modiolar vein: its importance in viral load of the inner ear.

Guinea pig—specific cytomegalovirus and Sendai virus were inoculated into the cochleas of seronegative guinea pigs to study the route of entry of cells participating in inner ear inflammation. Inflammatory cells accumulated around the spiral modiolar vein and appeared to be streaming from this vein into the scala tympani via a collecting venule. Inactivated virus inoculated into the cochlea and normal control cochlea failed to show inflammatory cell infiltrates. The spiral modiolar vein appears to play an important role in the movement of cells from the systemic circulation into the inner ear as part of the hosts normal defense against invading pathogens such as viruses.