Atypical cells in the normal guinea pig organ of Corti as revealed by micromanipulation in SEM.

Inner ear tissue of the normal guinea pig was conductively stained (OTOTO-method) for SEM investigations. The Hensen's cells of the organ of Corti were removed using a micromanipulator inside the SEM. By this method atypical bodies of sensory and supporting cells were revealed in the apical turns of the cochlea. Atypical sensory cells showed great variations in size and shape. Several had no contact to Deiter's cells and no or only one nerve supply at their basal end. Atypical Deiter's cells showed alterations in shape and in the form of their phalangeal processes. Additionally altered parts of the organ of Corti were isolated by micromanipulation and embedded for correlative TEM-investigations.