Anomaly of the round window a histopathological study using a graphic reconstruction method.

Although literature to date has reported that anomalies of the round window occur infrequently, no study to our knowledge has investigated such anomalies quantitatively. Thus, we developed a graphic reconstruction method and used it to study histology sections of the temporal bones. By this method we studied quantitatively the morphology of the round window of individuals with Mondini dysplasia of the inner ear and compared it to that of individuals with no anomaly. Iit was found that in 3 of 19 individuals with dysplasia, the total area of the round window was more than two standard deviations below the mean, thus small enough to be called anomalous. Moreover, the area of the round window was statistically significantly smaller in the ears from individuals with Mondini dysplasia, as a group, than in normal ears. This round window anomaly seems to be due to interruption of the normal development of the round window early in fetal life, as the result of poor development of the cartilage bar between the tympanic cavity and the subarachnoid space and also of the otic capsule in the hook portion of the basal turn of the cochlea.