Publications by authors named "Clarinda Northrop"
Hypothesis: Anomaly in the incudostapedial articulation (IS) may be responsible for persistent conductive hearing loss (HL) in Down's syndrome (DS) patients. Our goal was to perform a detailed histopathologic assessment of the role of the IS joint in the conductive HL.
Background: In addition to other disabilities, 38% to 78% of patients with Down's syndrome (Trisomy 21) have CHL, some of which are persistent despite maximum treatment.
Hypothesis: That acquired cholesteatoma of the human middle ear and mastoid process can be caused by migration of squamous epithelium from the tympanic membrane.
Objective: To provide histologic evidence in humans of the potential for medial epithelial migration toward the middle ear.
Background: The origin of cholesteatomas of the middle ear complex of humans is still not clearly understood.
Premature birth is a well-known risk factor for sensorineural hearing loss in general and auditory neuropathy in particular. However, relatively little is known about the underlying causes, in part because there are so few relevant histopathological studies. Here, we report on the analysis of hair cell loss patterns in 54 temporal bones from premature infants and a control group of 46 bones from full-term infants, all of whom spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit at the Hospital de Niños in San Jose, Costa Rica, between 1977 and 1993.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe anatomy of the distal incus, including the lenticular process, was examined in histological sections from 270 normal cadaveric human temporal bones aged between less than 1 month and 100 years. All but nine of these sectioned specimens showed signs of a bony connection between the long process of the incus and the flattened plate of the lenticular process, and in 108 specimens a complete bony attachment was observed in a single 20 microm section. In these 108 ears, the bony lenticular process consisted of a proximal narrow "pedicle" connected to a distal flattened "plate" that forms the incudal component of the incudo-stapedial joint.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHypothesis: To study the detailed anatomy of the incudostapedial joint (ISJ).
Background: Detailed study of the anatomy of the ISJ has been surprisingly neglected and continues to be controversial.
Methods: We studied the joint in 86 temporal bones from 51 subjects, aged 12 to 104 years, by light microscopy and three-dimensional images of computer-based reconstructions.
Hypothesis: The goal of this study was to create a three-dimensional model of the anatomy of the hook region to identify the optimal site for cochleostomy in cochlear implant surgery.
Background: The anatomy of the hook region is complex, and spatial relationships can be difficult to evaluate using two-dimensional histological slides or cadaveric temporal bones.
Methods: The right temporal bone of a 14-year-old adolescent boy was used to create a three-dimensional model.
Hypothesis: The study of infant temporal bones with tuberculosis (TB) of the middle ear and mastoid could provide information to assist with clinical diagnosis in this population.
Background: The TB pandemic has become a critical global public health problem. With the rising incidence of the disease, otolaryngologists might encounter an increased frequency of otologic TB.
Objective: To develop a three-dimensional virtual model of a human temporal bone based on serial histologic sections.
Background: The three-dimensional anatomy of the human temporal bone is complex, and learning it is a challenge for students in basic science and in clinical medicine.
Methods: Every fifth histologic section from a normal 14-year-old male was digitized and imported into a general purpose three-dimensional rendering and analysis software package called Amira (version 3.