Vascular anatomy of the inner ear of the guinea pig--a sem study of the corrosion cast--.

This paper shows a casting method of the vascular system of the inner ear of the guinea pig with the use of fluid resin injected intravascularly and the observation of those specimens by means of the scanning electron microscopy. First, fluid resin was injected into the blood vessels of a live or just sacrificed guinea pig. After taking the temporal bone out of the animal, it was decalcified and macerated completely. Then, a cast of the inner ear vessels was taken and observed with a scanning electron microscope. A pair of photos differing in teh view angle by seven degrees were taken simultaneously, and observed with a stereoviewer. This technique brought photographs of well magnified three-dimensional construction of the inner ear blood vessels.