The distribution of blood-vessels in the labyrinth of the ear of Sus scrofa domesticus / by H. Gideon Wells.

  • Shambaugh, George Elmer, 1868-1947.
Date:
1903
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The distribution of blood-vessels in the labyrinth of the ear of Sus scrofa domesticus / by H. Gideon Wells. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    THE DISTRIBUTION OE BLOOD-VESSELS IN THE LABY- RINTH OF THE EAR OF SUS SCROFA DOMESTICUS George E. Shambaugh The course of the blood-stream through the labyrinth of the ear has been a subject of considerable uncertainty and difference of opinion among anatomists. The reasons are obvious, for the complicated series of cavities that go to make up the laby- rinth of the ear makes the study of its blood-supply by the ordinary method from sections very inaccurate unless laborious methods of reconstruction are used. This element of difficulty was successfully overcome, however, when the method was intro- duced of making celloidin casts of the labyrinth in which the circulation could be viewed in its entirety. But with this accomplished, and with such a complete picture of the blood-supply before one, the complicated network of vessels found in the laby- rinth of the adult ear is in many places very difficult, if not quite impossible, to disen- tangle with any degree of accuracy. It seemed desirable, therefore, in order to get a correct understanding of the circulation of the adult ear, to work out the angiogenesis of the labyrinth in the hope that in the younger embryo would be found a less complicated circulatory system which would serve as a guide in interpreting the more intricate system of vessels found in the adult ear. Since work of this kind undertaken on the human ear would neces- sarily be greatly hampered on account of the difficulty in securing sufficient material, it was decided to use the embryo pig, because an abundant supply of fresh material gave ample opportunity for experimenting with methods of injection, until satisfactory preparations could be obtained in sufficient numbers for study. It was thought that an accurate picture of the blood-supply obtained in this way for the labyrinth of the pig’s ear would, perhaps, throw light upon some of the doubtful points in the circula- tion of the human ear. At any rate, such a knowledge of the circulation in the ear of the pig is desirable in itself. That the circulation in the labyrinth of the pig’s ear would differ in some respects from that of the human ear is, of course, to be expected, but in general we should look for a more or less close resemblance between the two. In injecting the vessels of the labyrinth in the embryo, many preparations were rendered useless, either because the pressure used was not sufficient to force the injecting fluid into the labyrinthine vessels, or because the pressure was too great for the delicate vessel walls, and the preparation was ruined by the escape of the injecting fluid into the surrounding tissue. It was found impossible always to gauge accurately the amount of pressure necessary to suit the different ages; hence it became necessary to inject a large number of embryos from which were selected those that proved satisfactory for study. Altogether over 500 embryos were injected, and
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