Vestibular Sensory Epithelia: A Scanning Electron Microscopic Observation

WE ARE greatly indebted to a few investigators for our fine morphological understanding of the vestibular organs.^1-7 Ultrastructural observations of the otolithic membranes were reported by Carlström and Engström,⁸ Iurato and de Petris,⁹ and others.¹⁰ Directional sensitivity of the lateral line organs of the fish was studied by Flock,¹¹ and that of the vestibular sensory receptors by Wersäll et al¹² with the electron microscope. The scanning electron microscopic observation of statolithic sensory organs of the Eledone (octopus family) was first attempted by Barber and Boyde.¹³

This investigation concerns the surface topography of the sensory epithelia of the vestibular sensory organs with special emphasis on the arrangement of stereocilia and their relationship to the otolithic membrane. This part of the study was supplementary information to add more details to what the authors have already reported.¹⁴

Materials and Methods  Fourteen guinea pig, five pigeon,