Glycogen in the cochlea during development.

A recently developed technique for demonstrating glycogen by electron microscopy was used to study its location at various stages of cochlear development. It appears first in dispersed form in most of the cells of the otocyst at the stage of the 14-day rat embryo. Glycogen clums were found in Reissner's membrane at 17 days and in the future pillar cells shortly afterwards. Near the time of birth, glycogen appeared in the stria vascularis. By a few days after birth, heavy deposits were evident in the stria but glycogen had faded from the pillar cells and Reissner's membrane. Ten days after birth glycogen is no longer apparent in any of the cells of the cochlear duct except the outer hair cells.