Round window membrane and perilymph in experimental otitis media with effusion.

To investigate the influence of middle ear effusion (MEE) on perilymph (PL), an experimental otitis media with effusion (OME) was manufactured in chinchillas by injecting the tympanic cavity with immune complexes. The presence of MEE lasted for up to 9 days after the injection of immune complexes. Perilymph was aspirated on the fourth, tenth, and 21st days after the inoculation. The mean concentrations of albumin, immunoglobulin G, histamine, and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) were significantly greater in PL from ears with induced OME than in that from normal control ears. The 3H-PGE2 placed on the round window membrane of pathologically affected ears passed into PL in significantly greater amounts than in normal control ears. The findings indicate that the immune complexes placed in the middle ear cavity affect the biochemical milieu of PL, and that MEE is a result of immune complexes.