Lee W S, Suárez C, Honrubia V, Gómez J
Division of Head and Neck Surgery, UCLA School of Medicine 90024.
Laryngoscope. 1990 Jul;100(7):756-64. doi: 10.1288/00005537-199007000-00012.
A quantitative study was made of the number of fibers, their diameters, and distribution in the nerves innervating individual vestibular receptor organs of three human temporal bones. The specimens were obtained from autopsies conducted within 4 hours postmortem. The temporal bones containing the nerves were fixed in 3% glutaraldehyde and decalcified with EDTA until they were soft enough to allow dissection of the nerve branches to the individual receptors. The nerve branches were processed for osmium staining, embedded in plastic, and cut serially in 1-micron-thick sections for light-microscopic histologic evaluation of their fiber composition. Quantitative evaluation of nerve-fiber characteristics was made with the aid of a laboratory computer and programs for graphic representation and statistical analysis. In the nerves to the individual cristae the number of fibers ranged between 1416 and 2335. Fibers with diameters between 2.5 microns and 3 microns were the most numerous. The number of fibers decreased exponentially with increased size. The thickest fibers had diameters up to 11.5 microns. The distribution of fibers in the nerve of each crista was different for the central and intermediate areas of the crista than it was for the ends. Thin fibers with diameters less than 2.5 microns, which represented 36% of the population, projected to the ends of the receptor area. Thick fibers with diameters greater than 4.5 microns, which represented 8% of the fibers, were distributed relatively uniformly except for the extreme ends of the crista, where they were nearly absent. Fibers with intermediate diameters were distributed throughout the crista, although they were more concentrated at the ends. In the nerves to three maculae, the number of fibers ranged from 3744 to 5538. The percentage of fibers of each size, however, was similar to that in the cristae. The greater portion of fibers had diameters between 3.0 microns and 3.5 microns. Because of the anatomical configuration of the maculae, it was not possible to compare fiber diameters from one area to another. The composition and differential projection of fibers to the crista in the human labyrinth were similar to those found earlier in squirrel monkeys and bullfrogs. On the basis of these similarities in the pattern of innervation, it is suggested that the physiological properties in humans must be similar to those in animals.
对取自三块人类颞骨的支配各个前庭感受器器官的神经中的纤维数量、直径及分布进行了定量研究。标本取自死后4小时内进行的尸检。含有神经的颞骨用3%戊二醛固定，并用乙二胺四乙酸脱钙，直至其足够柔软以便解剖至各个感受器的神经分支。将神经分支进行锇染色处理，包埋于塑料中，并切成1微米厚的连续切片，用于对其纤维组成进行光学显微镜组织学评估。借助实验室计算机及用于图形表示和统计分析的程序对神经纤维特征进行定量评估。在支配各个嵴的神经中，纤维数量在1416至2335之间。直径在2.5微米至3微米之间的纤维数量最多。纤维数量随尺寸增大呈指数减少。最粗的纤维直径达11.5微米。每个嵴神经中纤维的分布在嵴的中央中央区域与末端区域有所不同。直径小于2.5微米的细纤维占总数的36%，投射至感受器区域的末端。直径大于4.5微米的粗纤维占纤维总数的8%，除嵴的最末端几乎没有外，分布相对均匀。中等直径的纤维分布于整个嵴，不过在末端更为集中。在支配三个黄斑的神经中，纤维数量在3744至5538之间。然而，每种尺寸纤维的百分比与嵴中的相似。大部分纤维直径在3.0微米至3.5微米之间。由于黄斑的解剖结构，无法比较不同区域的纤维直径。人类迷路中支配嵴的纤维组成及差异投射与之前在松鼠猴和牛蛙中发现的相似。基于这些神经支配模式的相似性，有人提出人类的生理特性必定与动物相似。
