Minute findings of inner ear anomalies by three-dimensional CT scanning.

In actual clinical situations, inner ear anomalies must be diagnosed by image diagnosis such as high resolution CT-scanning of the temporal bone before three dimensional (3D) CT-scanning was introduced. In this paper, the usefulness of 3D-CT was investigated in some anomaly cases. It was found that 3D-CT was useful in observing the minute structure of the inner ear in that it could ascertain spatial relationships and minute constrictions and protrusions that could not be detected by 2D analysis. This CT was also capable of assessing the stage of embryological injuries and evaluating anomalies in cochlear turning that are the hidden factors of hearing impairment.