Regional blood flow patterns along the length of the rodent cochlea.

The cochlear blood flow within the different vascular beds of the cochlea was examined in rats and guinea pigs. Using a computer-assisted reconstruction technique, the position of the microspheres within the cochlea was determined and their percentage distribution along the length of the sensory epithelium was calculated. In the present experiments, differences in blood flow were observed along the length of the cochlea. Within one species the pattern in each of three vascular areas varied independently of the other. When the two species are compared, the pattern for blood flow to the individual vascular beds along the length of the sensory epithelium is similar. The differences observed may reflect differences in cochlear anatomy, or correlate with biochemical and metabolic longitudinal gradients known to exist in the cochlea.