A simple specimen preparation method for histopathological evaluation of vestibular organs

Abstract

Vestibular organs consist of the maculae staticae, which are located in both the utricle and saccule, as well as the semicircular ducts and their ampullas. There have been no reports on specimen preparation methods for vestibular organs, including maculae staticae or semicircular ducts. In this study, we investigated highly reproducible methods of preparing vestibular organ specimens for histopathological examinations. We established a method that allows researchers to observe the utricle and saccule, including otoliths, the ampulla of a semicircular duct, and parts of semicircular ducts. This highly reproducible method is useful for histopathological analysis of mice with symptoms of abnormal equilibrium caused by medical toxicity and genetic modification.

Hypoxic acclimatization training improves the resistance to motion sickness

“…Vestibular provocation, one of the main causes of flight illusions, is associated with the functional stability of the vestibular organs ( Demir and Aydin, 2021 ). Vestibular organs, also known as balance organs, are the main sensory organs of the human body’s balance system, which include two parts: semicircular canals (canalis semicircularis anterior, canalis semicircularis lateralis, and canalis semicircularis posterior) and otolith apparatus (saccule and utricle) ( Onishi et al, 2022 ). When the human body carries out variable rotating speed movement, it will cause the reverse flow of lymphatic fluid in the semicircular canal, stimulate the receptors of vestibular nerve endings, and then produce motor sensation and somatic reflex ( Holmes et al, 2003 ).…”