COMPUTER-ASSISTED 3-DIMENSIONAL RECONSTRUCTION OF THE VESTIBULAR END-ORGANS OF THE GERBIL USING THE SERIAL PARAFFIN SECTIONS

To obtain spatial information regarding gerbil vestibular end-organs a nd surrounding components, serial paraffin sections of the decalcified heads, including inner ear, were prepared. Photographs of the section s were traced onto OHP papers, on which two reference points were plot ted for the orientation. Sets comprised of a photograph and an OHP she et with two reference points were digitized using a scanner and the co mputer program, ''Photoshop''. The figures were cropped to the same si ze using two reference points and after the color density of the objec ts was increased, they were superimposed using the computer program, ' 'VoxelView'' for three-dimensional reconstruction. This was an effecti ve method of clarifying the spatial relationship of the components inc luded. Using the results obtained, precise experiments for electrical vestibular stimulation were successfully performed.