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[Peculiarities in the development of the superior semicircular canal]
Carmen Yus1, Ana I Cisneros2, Jesús Obón2
1Servicio de Anatomía Patológica, Hospital Universitario Miguel Servet, Zaragoza, España.
Objective:
Our objective was to study the ontogeny of the superior semicircular canal in order to describe its peculiarities.
Methods:
We analyzed 76 series of human embryos aged between 32 days (6mm) and newborns. The samples were cut serially and stained using Martin's trichrome technique.
Results:
In semicircular canal development there were a number of peculiarities, such as: a defined chronological sequence of osteogenesis with a variable rate of ossification; the fact that each nucleus of ossification was involved in the formation of one of its covers (the upper in the superficial and the lower in the deep); the appearance of transitory dehiscence; and canal closure by means of bone with laminar pattern, with a minimum thickness of 0.1mm.
Conclusion:
The peculiarities in canal development could explain the origin of pathological dehiscence in the canal, whether congenital or acquired.
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