TECHNIQUES FOR HUMAN TEMPORAL BONE REMOVAL - INFORMATION FOR THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY

Human temporal bones provide an irreplaceable resource for study of th e pathology and pathophysiology of disorders of hearing, balance, tast e, and facial nerve function. Additional specimens are needed to study disorders for which there are few human specimens; to increase the nu mber of specimens for a given disorder to understand the natural varia bility and expression of the disease entity; to evaluate the accuracy of otologic diagnoses and the efficacy of otologic treatment modalitie s; to apply newly available scientific methods, including immunohistoc hemistry and molecular biologic or molecular genetic techniques; and t o teach the anatomy of the human ear and modern otologic surgical tech niques. This article provides information for the scientific community concerning techniques for temporal bone and auditory brain stem remov al, including intracranial and extracranial approaches and methods to minimize postmortem autolysis and cosmetic defects. Close collaboratio n between physicians and funeral directors will maximize the yield and utility of these valuable specimens for scientific inquiry and traini ng.