Cochlear Fluids Research Laboratory

Alec N. Salt, Ph.D.

Department of Otolaryngology
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, Missouri, 63110, USA

   Fluid Spaces of the Inner Ear

The image shows an anatomically accurate 3-D reconstruction of the fluid spaces of the mammalian inner ear. The upper, spiral structure is the cochlea, the part of the ear that is responsible for hearing. The lower parts include the vestibule and the semi-circular canals, that are responsible for balance. We build 3-D representations of the ear into computer models that allow us to mathematically model how applied substances, such as drugs, disperse within the fluid and tissue spaces of the ear.
The structures are color-coded as follows: Orange: perilymph; Blue: endolymph; Pale Green: Spiral Ligament; Dark Green: Nerve; Red: Cochlear aqueduct; Brown: Stapes; Blue-Gray: Round Window Membrane

Wind Turbines can be Hazardous to Human Health

Copyright
Michael A. Nissenbaum, MD.
With Permission

  A Pictorial Guide to the Inner Ear

  "Fluid in Your Ears"

  Anatomy of the Inner Ear

  Cochlear Anatomy

  Cochlear Fluids Composition

  The Endocochlear Potential

  Endolymphatic Hydrops

  Endolymph Flow in the Normal Cochlea

Cochlear Fluids Simulator 3.080 Version – February 2012

Publications from our Group

Awards

  Guyot Prize for Research 1999

  Prosper Meniere Society: Gold Medal Award for Research 2008

  Cochlear Fluids Studies

  Perilymph Sampling from the Cochlear Apex

  Computer Simulations of Drug Movements in Cochlear Fluids

  Introduction to the 1D Fluids Simulator Program

  Downloading, Installation and Operating Instructions

  Download Latest Simulator Program V 1.6i, December 2005(1.7 Mb windows installation file)

Download and installation of this program should be performed with Microsoft Internet Explorer.

  Documentation of Simulator Revisions

  Guidance for setting Simulation Parameters

  Cochlear Distortion Simulator

  Introduction to the Distortion Simulation Program

  Downloading, Installation and Operating Instructions

  Download the Distortion Simulation Program V 1.1, October, 2003 (2.9 Mb Windows installation file)

Download and installation of this program should be performed with Microsoft Internet Explorer.

  Cochlear Fluid Parameters Database

  Dimensions of Inner Ear Fluid Spaces

  Composition of Inner Ear Fluids

  Resting Potentials of Inner Ear Fluid Spaces

  Longitudinal Flow Rate of Cochlear Fluids

  Diffusion Coefficients for Various Solutes

  Clearance Characteristics for Various Solutes

  Placement locations of electrodes

  3-D Imaging of the Ear with OPFOS

  3D Reconstruction of the Helicotrema

  3-D Imaging of the Ear with High-Resolution MR

  Introduction and Personnel Involved

  High-resolution Magnetic Resonance Microscopy (MRM) Technique

  Cochlear Fluid Volumes for the Guinea Pig

  Cochlear Fluid Volumes for the Human

  Cochlear Fluid Volumes for the Gerbil

  Cochlear Fluid Volumes for the Bat

  Cochlear Fluid Volumes for the Rat

  Cochlear Fluid Volumes for the Mouse

  Relationship of the Round Window to Scala Tympani

  MR Imaging of the Endolymphatic Sac

  The Meniere's Page

  Radio Controlled Model Airplanes

  My Radio Controlled Airplanes

  St. Louis Radio Control Flying Association

Quotes that I like

"A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die and a new generation grows up that are familiar with it."
Max Planck

"Fear not the path of truth for the lack of people walking on it."
Robert F Kennedy

Comments are welcome at salta@ent.wustl.edu.

Web page first established March 6, 1995
Pages last updated August 2010