Anatomical analysis of vestibular aqueducts in humans and miniature pigs

Abstract

The physiological function of the endolymphatic sac (ES) is not fully understood. However, the widely used animal models for studying the ES, mice and zebrafish, still have many dissimilarities with the human ES. Miniature pigs have a cochlear structure and hearing frequency range more similar to those of humans, making them one of the most popular experimental animals in otology and audiology research. However, there are few data on the anatomy of the vestibular aqueduct (VA) in miniature pigs. To characterize the anatomical structure of the VA of miniature pigs, we scanned the temporal bones of four normal individuals (8 ears) using micro-CT and reconstructed the VA with Mimics software using multi-planar reconstruction techniques. We found that, as in humans, the VA of miniature pigs also consisted of proximal and distal parts. The total length of the VA of miniature pigs was 5.4 ± 0.5 mm (n = 8), approximately a third of its length in humans. Our study found that the VA of miniature pigs is a promising model for vestibular disease research.