Ultrastructure of the tympanic membrane in the Rhesus monkey.
The tympanic membranes of 8 Rhesus monkeys (macaca mulatta) were investigated by transmission electron microscopy. The interface of the epidermis and the fibrous framework appeared rather smooth and the contact between the basal cell layer and the lamina propria was secured by a dermo-epidermal junction. Cross-sectioned fibrils varied in shape and thickness, the thin fibrils being quadrangular. The findings of this study indicate a great similarity between the tympanic membrane of man and that of the Rhesus monkey. A corresponding similarity has been documented concerning the function of the Eustachian tube--middle-ear system, and it is concluded that the Rhesus monkey is highly suitable for studies of the tympanic membrane.
D000818:Animals; D003094:Collagen; D007365:Intercellular Junctions / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D014432:Tympanic Membrane / Q000648:ultrastructure*
D003094:Collagen