An optical and electron microscopy study of materials implanted in the rat middle ear. II. A bioactive glass ceramic

The bioactive glass Ceravital is rapidly covered by a fibrous encapsulating layer when placed in the rat middle ear. In addition, the surface of the glass becomes gradually modified from purely a silicate to a phosphosilicate. It is suggested that this phosphosilicate layer acts as a reservoir for the gradual mineralization of the encapsulating collagenous fibrils, resulting eventually in the formation of a strong bony bond.