抄録
Lipoteichoic acid from Staphylococcus aureus was used in this experiment in order to see the possibility of cochlear damage due to endotoxin-like substance in the middle ear fluid. The substance was either put on the surface of the round window membrane or injected into the scala tympani of guinea pigs, and the temporal bones were obtained and processed for evaluation under light microscope. In the former group, no definite abnormality of the cochlea was observed. However, in the latter group in which the substance was injected into the scala tympani, severe inner ear damage was observed in some of the animals. The results may indicate the possibility that the cochlear damage might occur by endotoxin-like substance which has penetrated the round window membrane into the inner ear.
