Studies of the inner ear include three basic techniques: histochemical studies, biochemical analysis and physiological analysis. These methods have been extended to the level of the single cell, and especially physiological studies have been advanced by the use of an isolated sensory hair cell and the patch clamp technique.
In order to study the basic metabolism and electrical characteristics of the inner ear, we describe a rapid technique for the isolation of sensory hair cells from the inner ear.
Hair cells of bull frogs and guinea pigs are isolated from the vestibular and cochlear organs by an enzymatic and mechanical isolation technique with the use of papain. This technique yields a sufficient number of hair cells in a relatively short time.