Ultrastructural changes in the cochlear sensory epithelium following damage to the organ of Corti.

The repair pattern of the reticular lamina of the organ of Corti was studied after idiophatic hair-cell loss and ototoxic damage. The present report examines the repairing capacities of the inner and outer pillars of Corti and Deiters' cells in guinea pigs that received aminoglycosides for 21 days. By means of scanning electron microscopy, the defects of the reticular lamina, the hypertrophic processes of the supporting cells, and numerical increase of microvilli were observed.