Effect of conservation method on ear mechanics for the same specimen

Graf, Lukas; Arnold, A.; Roushan, Kourosh; Honegger, F.; Müller‐Gerbl, Magdalena; Stieger, Christof

doi:10.1016/j.heares.2020.108152

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 19 publications

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“…Regarding mechanical characteristics, fresh-frozen specimens are commonly used to study middle ear mechanics 35 .Two were left ears (Sample 1 and Sample 2), and Sample 3 was a right ear. To diminish the absorption of X-rays during the imaging, the area of interest had to be extracted from the temporal bone.…”

Section: Sample Preparationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing Bone Density Pattern and Porosity in the Human Ossicular Chain using Synchrotron Microtomography

Ivanovic,

Schalbetter,

Schmeltz

et al. 2024

Preprint

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The auditory ossicles amplify and transmit sound from the environment to the inner ear. The distribution of bone mineral density is crucial for the proper functioning of sound transmission as the ossicles are suspended in an air-filled chamber. However, little is known about the distribution of bone mineral density along the human ossicular chain and within individual ossicles. To investigate this, we analyzed fresh-frozen human specimens using synchrotron-based phase-contrast microtomography. In addition, we analyzed the volume and porosity of the ossicles. The porosity for the auditory ossicles lies, on average, between 1.92% and 9.85%. The average volume for the mallei is 13.85 ± 2.15 mm3, for the incudes 17.62 ± 4.05 mm3 and 1.24 ± 0.29 mm3 for the stapedes. The bone density distribution showed a similar pattern through all samples. In particular, we found high bone mineralization spots on the anterior crus of the stapes, its footplate, and along areas that are crucial for the transmission of sound. We could also see a correlation between low bone mineral density and holey areas where the bone is only very thin or missing. Our study identified a similar pattern of bone density distribution within all samples: regions exposed to lower forces generally show higher bone density. Further, we observed that the stapes shows high bone mineral density along the anterior crus and its footplate, which may indicate its importance in transmitting sound waves to the inner ear.

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Section: Sample Preparationmentioning

confidence: 99%