INFLUENCE OF THE MIDDLE EAR ON LABYRINTHINE PRESSURE

Abstract

The majority of investigations on labyrinthine pressure have been made by histologic methods. Most of the authors have come to the conclusion that the labyrinth is well protected against all changes in nonacoustic pressure and that it possesses a constant static pressure. This conclusion was based on the fact that the investigators, with few exceptions, could find no evidence of increased pressure in the inner ear when reviewing the microscopic slides made in clinical cases or in experiments on animals. In studying this problem, it is essential to know the amount of pressure needed to produce histologic changes in the labyrinth. As relatively large changes in pressure must occur before any changes in the labyrinth can be detected histologically, it is obvious that the histologic method cannot be used in the study of small changes. In a former paper I reported that it is possible to observe exceedingly