Vascular histology of the guinea pig cochlea.

Detailed histological findings on all the regularly occurring cochlear vessels in the normal guinea pig are presented. Vessels were examined using a surface prepration technique and phase-contrast microscopy. Particular attention was paid to the density of red blood corpuscles, the thickness of the vascular wall, the occurrence of endothelial cells and pericytes, together with their possible influence on the vessel lumen and the existence of perivascular spaces and vessels lacking blood corpuscles. The data are compared with some previous findings of "vascular pathology" following noise stimulation. The possible functional significance of some of the morphological findings is also discussed.