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Updated: Jan 11, 2026
In Vivo Morphometric Analysis of Human Cranial Nerves Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Menière's Disease Ears and Normal Hearing Ears
Published on: February 21, 2018
Temporal Bone 3D Reconstruction and Analysis of Endolymph Volume in Meniere Disease
Achilles A Kanaris1, Adam Y Xiao1, Eashan Biswas1
1Departments of Head and Neck Surgery.
Hypothesis:
Endolymph volumes within the cochlea and vestibule differ between Meniere's disease (MD) and similar-age controls.
Background:
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has potential to diagnose endolymphatic hydrops (EH). In this study, we utilize archival human temporal bones (HTB) to establish objective reference values for endolymph volumes within the cochlea and vestibule in patients with MD and in age-similar controls, for correlation with future MRI studies.
Methods:
Nineteen HTBs were selected for 3-dimensional reconstruction and volume analysis, including 12 HTBs with MD and 7 age-similar control HTBs. HTBs were segmented and volumes of interest were measured allowing for calculation of the vestibular and cochlear endolymphatic ratios (vELR and cELR), representative of the degree of EH within the vestibule and cochlea.
Results:
Endolymph volumes within the vestibule and cochlea were significantly higher in MD HTBs. There was no difference in volumes of the bony vestibule and cochlea. The vELR and cELR were significantly larger in MD. Control HTB measurements were utilized to establish the upper bound of normal for the vELR and cELR, which were determined to be 33.2% and 8.84%, respectively.
Conclusions:
Endolymph volumes and the corresponding vELR and cELR values were significantly higher in MD, indicative of EH. Through the ELR, this study provides objective anatomic reference values directly comparable to MRI studies of EH. A threshold for the vELR and cELR is proposed, above which a diagnosis of EH may be warranted.
