Epithelial migration on the guinea-pig tympanic membrane: the influence of perforation and ventilating tube insertion.

The guinea-pig tympanic membrane was used to study epithelial migration by using an ink-dot staining technique. The normal tympanic membrane exhibited clear-cut migratory pathways, mainly in a superior direction. Tympanic membranes were acutely perforated and others had ventilating tubes inserted in them to determine their influence on the migratory process. The overall pattern of migration was found to be unaltered; only those cells were affected whose normal pathways had been disrupted by these procedures. The possible relationship of epithelial migration to ventilating tube extrusion is discussed.