A. Walsted et al., EFFECT OF CRANIOTOMY AND CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID LOSS ON THE INNER-EAR - AN EXPERIMENTAL-STUDY, Acta oto-laryngologica, 114(6), 1994, pp. 626-631
Craniotomy with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) suction was performed on 18
guinea pigs to determine the effects on the inner ear morphology. Six
control animals received anaesthesia only and 12 were operated on with
a postoperative survival time of 1 or 24 h. The histologic examinatio
ns showed no signs of endolymphatic hydrops or injury to other structu
res in any of the animals. In 11 of the operated animals, red blood co
rpuscles were demonstrated in the perilymphatic space of the cochlea,
the subarachnoid space, and the cochlear aqueduct (CA). After 1 h surv
ival time blood had entered primarily the basal part of the scala tymp
ani, but in the animals of 24 h survival time the blood was more abund
ant in both the scala tympani and the scala vestibuli indicating flow
within the inner ear. The CA thus provides a pathway between the CSF a
nd the whole of the perilymph through which noxious effects could take
place.