Obrist Dominik, Hegemann Stefan
Institute of Fluid Dynamics, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland.
J R Soc Interface. 2008 Oct 6;5(27):1215-29. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2008.0047.
The semicircular canals (SCCs; located in the inner ear) are the primary sensors for angular motion. Angular head movements induce a fluid flow in the SCCs. This flow is detected by afferent hair cells inside the SCCs. Canalithiasis is a condition where small particles disturb this flow, which leads to benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (top-shelf vertigo). The present work investigates the interaction between the fluid flow and the particles on the basis of an idealized analytical model. Numerical solutions of the full model and a thorough analytical study of the linearized model reveal the principal mechanisms of canalithiasis. We propose a set of dimensionless numbers to characterize canalithiasis and derive explicit expressions connecting these dimensionless numbers directly to the typical clinical symptoms.
半规管（位于内耳）是角运动的主要传感器。头部的角运动在内耳半规管中引起流体流动。这种流动由半规管内的传入毛细胞检测到。耳石症是一种小颗粒干扰这种流动的病症，会导致良性阵发性位置性眩晕（顶级眩晕）。本研究基于一个理想化的分析模型，研究了流体流动与颗粒之间的相互作用。完整模型的数值解以及对线性化模型的深入分析研究揭示了耳石症的主要机制。我们提出了一组无量纲数来表征耳石症，并推导了将这些无量纲数直接与典型临床症状联系起来的显式表达式。
