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Ultrastructural Studies of the Human Round Window Membrane
Anna-Mary Carpenter, PhD, MD;
David Muchow;
Marcos V. Goycoolea, MD, PhD
Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1989;115(5):585-590.
Abstract
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• An ultrastructural study of 14 round window membranes of seven human ears disclosed three basic layers: an outer epithelium lining the middle ear, a middle core of connective tissue, and an inner epithelium bordering the inner ear. Morphological evidence suggests that these layers participate in absorption and secretion of substances to and from the inner ear. A comparison of morphological features of round window membranes suggests that the average thickness of 70 µm does not change with advancing age. However, in the elderly, the connective tissue has a looser arrangement; there is an increase in ground substance; and elastic fibers thicken. Fibroblast nuclei become larger, rounder, and less uniform and have extensions. The ultrastructure of the "false round window membranes," with epithelial cells of the same type bounding both sides, suggests that these membranes consist of juxtaposed epithelial folds of the overlying promontory.
(Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1989;115:585-590)
Author Affiliations
From the Departments of Anatomy (Dr Carpenter and Mr Muchow) and Otolaryngology (Dr Goycoolea), University of Minnesota School of Medicine, and the Department of Otolaryngology, Minnesota Ear, Head, and Neck Clinic (Dr Goycoolea), Minneapolis. Mr Muchow is now with the Department of Otolaryngology, University of Minnesota School of Medicine.
Footnotes
Accepted for publication Nov 4, 1988.
Reprint requests to 5817 Merold Dr, Edina, MN 55436 (Dr Goycoolea).
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