Abstract

The human inner ear has an intricate spiral shape often compared to shells of mollusks, particularly to the nautilus shell. It has inspired many functional hearing theories. The reasons for this complex geometry remain unresolved. We digitized 138 human cochleae at microscopic resolution and observed an astonishing interindividual variability in the shape. A 3D analytical cochlear model was developed that fits the analyzed data with high precision. The cochlear geometry neither matched a proposed function, namely sound focusing similar to a whispering gallery, nor did it have the form of a nautilus. Instead, the innate cochlear blueprint and its actual ontogenetic variants were determined by spatial constraints and resulted from an efficient packing of the cochlear duct within the petrous bone. The analytical model predicts well the individual 3D cochlear geometry from few clinical measures and represents a clinical tool for an individualized approach to neurosensory restoration with cochlear implants.

Details

Title
Spiral Form of the Human Cochlea Results from Spatial Constraints
Author
Pietsch, M 1 ; L Aguirre Dávila 2 ; Erfurt, P 1 ; Avci, E 1 ; Lenarz, T 1 ; Kral, A 3 

 Institute of AudioNeuroTechnology & Dept. of Experimental Otology, ENT Clinics, School of Medicine, Hanover Medical University, Hanover, Germany 
 Institute of Biometry, School of Medicine, Hanover Medical University, Hanover, Germany 
 Institute of AudioNeuroTechnology & Dept. of Experimental Otology, ENT Clinics, School of Medicine, Hanover Medical University, Hanover, Germany; School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas, Dallas, USA 
Pages
1-11
Publication year
2017
Publication date
Aug 2017
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
1957184320
Copyright
© 2017. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.