Morphometric Analysis of the Human Endolymphatic Sac: Section 2. Evaluation of Epithelial Organization of Sacs from Four Meniere's Disease Cases

Abstract

The height of epithelial cells in the pars canalicularis (intraosseous endolymphatic sac) was measured at 4 different superior-to-inferior levels of 4 sacs from 4 Meniere's disease patients. Measurements were compared statistically with measurements of epithelial cell height in 4 sacs from 4 normal-hearing adults. In both types of samples, cell height was associated with canalicular size. This appears to be a fundamental histological organization of sac epithelium. The distribution of cell height within the 4 levels of the pars canalicularis differed between the diseased and normal samples. For the 3 inferior levels, cell height was significantly less for the Meniere's disease than the normal sacs. For the superior level, no significant difference was found between control and Meniere's disease. Based on the hypothesis that deficiencies in the resorption of endolymph are responsible for the symptoms of Meniere's disease, we hypothesize that the epithelium in the 3 lower levels of the pars canalicularis of Meniere's disease patients may be less efficient in resorbing endolymph due to the shorter average cell height in those levels.