Early post-mortem change of the crista ampullaris. A light and electron microscopic study of the Guinea-pig.
Post-mortem change (autolysis) of the sensory and the secretory epithelia was studied by means of the light and the electron microscope. The first ultrastructurally recognizable sign of autolysis occurred 10-15 min after death in the mitochondria of the hair cells and their adjacent nerve endings. The morphology of hair cells was occasionally well preserved 30 min post-mortem, but after 90 min or more autolytic changes were invariably severe. The secretory epithelium, however, was considerably less affected by autolysis than the hair cells during the first 5 h after death.
D000818:Animals; D001329:Autolysis; D004848:Epithelium; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006198:Hair Cells, Auditory; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008928:Mitochondria; D009925:Organ of Corti; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D013997:Time Factors