3-D reconstruction of the vestibular endorgans in pediatric temporal bones

We investigated the vestibular endorgans in three children using 3-D reconstructions from histological sections. The right temporal bone of a newborn child without peripheral vestibular pathology was used as reference model and the temporal bones from a child with Goldenhar syndrome and a child with Pierre Robin sequence with known peripheral vestibular pathology were studied. All five temporal bones were prepared by the celloidin technique and sectioned at 20 microm. Each available section was digitized with a slide scanner. The imaging data were layered anatomically correctly and rendered in a 3-D software. With this technique all vestibular endorgans were reconstructed and measured. The standard deviations in distances ranged between 0.5 and 1.2% and in angles between 0.1 and 2.9 degrees. Both maculae were curved in the longitudinal and transverse axes which described a curve of approximately 35 degrees. The angles between the semicircular ducts varied between 97 and 110 degrees. The pathological models demonstrated a distorted configuration of the semicircular canals and differed substantially from the reference model in most of the measured distances and angles. The method presented is capable of generating 3-D models of the vestibular system from histological sections with an acceptable precision without previously inserted reference marks. Archival celloidin sections are widely available and will be an important resource in understanding the detailed 3-D geometry of the vestibular system which has not yet been accomplished.