Abstract
Mix-mice, a new strain of mice with inner ear dysfunction, and their littermates were used in the present study in order to investigate vestibular morphology, visualised by light microscopy (LM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Contrary to the mix-mice, their littermates showed less stained nerve chalices and it was possible to detect that hair cells showed surface herniations and so-called ‘blebs’ in the apical portion of the epithelium. Sensory hairs showed a disarrayed pattern. The mix-mice had severe microscopical abnormalities: collapse of the membranous cell layer, cavities inside the neuroepithelium, severe loss of hair cells, herniations of the few remaining hair cells and increased supporting cells were evident. In the utricle and saccule, hair cells were missing and the epithelial surface was covered by a single layer of smooth, flattened epithelial cells of hitherto unknown origin.
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