[A general review on the procedures in a human temporal bone laboratory].

Structures of the human ear are usually inaccessible during life for examination of pathologic changes of the underlying disease, which is only possible with postmortem studies of the human temporal bone. Human temporal bone laboratories serve as a unique source of material for research in this respect. They enable comparison between histologic findings of temporal bone sections and the ear pathologies documented prior to death, as well as comparison of diseased ears with any selected temporal bone specimens, both of which provide invaluable knowledge to be shared among researchers and other laboratories.