Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T17:26:41.588Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The conical cartilage of the cat's middle ear

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2007

Mahmoud A. Khalil  and
Myron Spector
Mahmoud A. Khalil
Affiliation:
Cairo, Egypt and Atlanta, Georgia, USA Dr. Mahmoud Abdel-Raouf Khalil, 15 Darih Saad Street—Elmonira. Cairo—Egypt.
Myron Spector*
Affiliation:
Cairo, Egypt and Atlanta, Georgia, USA
*
M. Spector, Ph.D., Department of Orthopaedics, Empory University School of Medicine, 69 Butler Street, Atlanta, GA 30303U.S.A.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The object of this study was to investigate the anatomy, histology, and possible function of a conical structure found in the middle ear of the cat. This conical structure lies across the dorso-caudal compartment of the middle ear. It is directly related to the course of the chorda tympani nerve in the middle ear. Its base is attached by fibrous tissue to the dorso-caudal segment of the tympanic bone adjacent to the tympanic membrane. Its apex rests on the promontory just rostral to the round window niche. Histologically, it is cartilaginous tissue enveloped by a mudous membrane with no trace of bone. Portions of some conical cartilage specimens display extensive calcification. A previous hypothesis suggests that this structure conducts high frequency sounds directly from the tympanic membrane to the round window membrane. This seems unlikely because its length is shorter than the distance between the tympanic membrane and round window membrane. The conical cartilage may be a vestigial remnant of the second arch bar (Reichert's cartilage).

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 99 , Issue 9 , September 1985 , pp. 831 - 838
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 1985

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bast, T. H., Anson, B. J. and Richary, S. F. (1956) The development of the second branchial arch (Reichert's cartilage), facial canal and associated structures in man. Quarterly Bulletin Northwestern University Medical School, 30: 235–249.Google Scholar
Davey, L. M. (1979) An atlas of microscopic dissection following the attic approach to the cat's middle ear. Journal of the American Auditory Society, 5: 138–148.Google Scholar
Fleischer, G. (1978) Evolutionary principles of mammalian middle ear. Advances in A natomy, Embryology and Cell Biology, 55: 3–70.Google ScholarPubMed
Garcia, P. J., Tamega, O. J., Soares, J. C., Piffer, C. R. and Zorzerro, N. L. (1982) Contribution to the study of the styloid prominence in the posterior tympanic cavity. Anatomischer Anzeiger Jena, 151: 247–254.Google Scholar
Girgis, I. H. and Maurice, M. (1982) The ossicular system of cats. Journal of Laryngology and Otology, 96: 195–203.Google Scholar
Hanson, J. R., Anson, B. J. and Strickland, E. M. (1962) Branchial sources of auditory ossicles in man. Part II—Observations of embryonic stages from 7 mm to 28 mm (CR length). Archives of Otolaryngology, 76: 200–215.Google Scholar
Hunt, R. M. Jr (1974). The auditory bulla in carnivora: An anatomical basis for reappraisal of carnivore evolution. Journal of Morphology, 143: 21–75.Google Scholar
Parrington, F. R. (1979). The evolution of the mammalian middle and outer ears: A personal review. Biology Review, 54: 369–387.Google Scholar
Proctor, B. (1969) Surgical anatomy of the posterior tympanum. Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology, 78: 1026–1040.Google Scholar