Abstract
The membranous labyrinth of the guinea pig cochlea and retrocochlear neural structures were investigated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using an experimental system with a field strength of 4.7T and a single turn surface coil 25 mm in diameter, or standard resonators of 34 or 70 mm in diameter and gradient field strengths of 950 mTm and 200 mTm. High-resolution 2-D and 3-D images of 0.3-1.0 mm slice thickness were acquired by a rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement (RARE) sequence and a standard multi-echo technique. Structural and dimensional aspects of the cochlea were resolved in vitro and in vivo down to <50 microm, showing the scala vestibule, scala media, scala tympani, spiral ganglia and the cochlear (eighth) nerve. In vivo perfusions with the gadodiamide (GdDTPA-BMA) chelate-bound paramagnetic gadolinium ion resulted in dynamic temporal enhancement of the scala vestibule and scala tympani, but did not penetrate the scala media.
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