The following eighty photomicrographs were taken in 18 cases of death due to fracture of the skull involving the temporal bone. The trauma was that occurring in ordinary life, caused by fast moving vehicles, falls from various heights, and so on. The patients were between 17 and 50 years of age, both sexes being represented. For comparison photomicrographs taken in cases of craniotomy for delivery are included. The pictures, dealing exclusively with human material, demonstrate the variations of temporal fractures with their effects on the different component tissues of the external, the middle and the internal ear.
Sections were cut, after the usual fixation, decalcification and embedding, chiefly in the horizontal plane with the exception of a small group which were cut vertically. All were stained with hematoxylin-eosin. The plane of the section is indicated by the letter following the serial number: H for horizontal; V for vertical.
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