Scarano E, Paludetti G, Frusoni F, Deli R, Maurizi M
Institute of Otolaryngology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy.
ORL J Otorhinolaryngol Relat Spec. 1997 May-Jun;59(3):166-9. doi: 10.1159/000276931.
The authors studied the overall microscopical anatomy of the middle ear and of the eustachian tube in 20 tympanic bullae of 10 Wistar rats. Large hexagonal epithelial flat cells covered the roof of the bulla, the two upper thirds of both lateral walls, the upper half of the eustachian tube, and the upper third of the tympanic orifice; ciliated and secretory cells lined the inferior thirds of both walls of the bulla while a ciliated epithelium with strong cilia, all directed towards the tubal orifice, located on the floor of the tympanic cavity together with groups of non-ciliated cells was detectable near the tubal and antral areas and on the floor of the eustachian tube. Non-ciliated cells covered by microvilli were found near the pharyngeal orifice. These observations seem to demonstrate the following: (1) the ciliated elements present a well-defined topographic distribution; (2) a preferential pathway for mucociliary clearance made up of strong ciliated cells located on the floor of the bulla is clearly detectable, and (3) the roof of the bulla seems to be mainly involved in the ventilatory function.
作者研究了10只Wistar大鼠的20个鼓泡的中耳和咽鼓管的整体显微解剖结构。大的六边形扁平上皮细胞覆盖鼓泡顶部、两侧壁的上三分之二、咽鼓管的上半部分以及鼓膜口的上三分之一；鼓泡两侧壁的下三分之一衬有纤毛细胞和分泌细胞，而在鼓室底部靠近咽鼓管和鼓窦区域以及咽鼓管底部可检测到纤毛强且均朝向咽鼓管口的纤毛上皮，同时还有成组的非纤毛细胞。在咽鼓管口附近发现有微绒毛覆盖的非纤毛细胞。这些观察结果似乎表明：（1）纤毛成分呈现出明确的地形分布；（2）由位于鼓泡底部的强纤毛细胞组成的黏液纤毛清除的优先途径清晰可辨；（3）鼓泡顶部似乎主要参与通气功能。
