An ultrastructural study of the calcification process in tympanosclerotic tissues.

The alterations of the connective tissue components in the middle ear during tympanosclerosis have been analyzed at ultrastructural level. The final steps of this pathological condition are characterized by the disappearance of the blood vessels, cellular degeneration, hyalin degeneration, and calcification. The different features of the inorganic deposits and the cellular origin of the organic structures involved in the calcification process are described.