Temporal Bone Collections in Europe and the United States Observations on a Productive Laboratory, Pathologic Findings of Clinical Relevance, and Recommendations

Modified paraffin-embedding method for the human cochlea that reveals a fine morphology and excellent immunostaining results

“…Since the membranous labyrinth is very delicate and the surrounding temporal bone is very hard, preservation of the inner ear morphology is extremely difficult [1]. The celloidin-embedding method formulated by Schuknecht has been generally employed in special laboratories for inner ear study.…”

“…Every fifth section was examined by microscopy and the preservation of the morphology was separately evaluated by three otolaryngologists experienced in the pathology of human temporal bone. They evaluated the histological preservation of the tectorial membrane, the organ of Corti, Reissner's membrane, and the basilar membrane at each turn of the cochlea, and then graded their findings as either good preservation (2 points), intermediate preservation (1) or poor preservation (0).…”

“…Schuknecht established a standard procedure for the morphological study of the human temporal bone that involved formalin fixation, ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) decalcification, celloidin embedding, and serial sectioning [1,2]. Celloidin embedding has been the preferred technique because it can preserve the delicate morphology of the membranous labyrinth and the surrounding otic capsule of the human temporal bone [3].…”

A technique for retrieving antigens in formalin-fixed, routinely acid-decalcified, celloidin-embedded human temporal bone sections for immunohistochemistry.

“…There are collections amounting to 8000 and 13,000 human temporal bones in Europe and the United States, respectively (4,12), providing a valuable research source for the purpose of understanding the etiology and pathogenesis of diseases of the human ear. Yet, in the absence of an effective approach to immunostaining of celloidin-embedded tissues, much of this material has remained inaccessible to immunohistological studies.…”

Technical report: Immunofluorescence and TUNEL staining of celloidin embedded human temporal bone tissues

“…The histopathologic evaluation of temporal bone abnormalities was initiated over one hundred years ago (Schuknecht, 1987(Schuknecht, , 1993. The early reports describe the processing and evaluation of selected areas of interest, not the entire temporal bone.…”