The effects of vascular occlusion on the human inner ear.

Occlusion of the anterior vestibular artery has resulted in severe degeneration and new bone formation limited to the utricle, saccule, and superior and lateral semicircular canals. Depriving the inner ear of its main blood supply, i.e. the internal auditory artery, has resulted in severe degeneration and ossification of the entire membranous labyrinth, except the endolymphatic duct and sac. A more severe cochlear sclerosis was seen when both arterial and venous blood supplies to the cochlea were occluded. The implications of these findings on the etiology and management of inner ear disorders are emphasized.