title: Contribution of stapedial artery to blood flow in the cochlea and its surrounding bone.
abstract: This study was performed to elucidate the contribution of the stapedial artery (SA)--which has been considered to be independent of the vertebrobasilar system--to blood flow in the ear by observing ear blood flow in Sprague-Dawley rats. A laser-Doppler (LD) probe was positioned on the bony wall of the cochlear basal turn after removal of the middle ear mucosa. The LD output was measured while either or both the SA and the anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) were occluded. The LD output decreased to 70.6+/-2.5% (mean+/-S.D.) of the baseline value following SA occlusion, and to 58.0+/-7.8% following AICA occlusion in 12 animals. The rebound phenomenon of blood flow, which is a type of autoregulation, was only observed after releasing AICA occlusion. Simultaneous occlusion of the SA and AICA decreased the LD output to 27.0+/-5.5% of the baseline value. The role of the contribution of the SA and AICA to the LD output is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Nagoya University School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan. yhiroshi@tsuru.med.nagoya-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Mitsuo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tominaga
authors.forename: Michihiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sone
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakashima
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001157:Arterial Occlusive Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology; D001158:Arteries / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000098:blood supply; D003051:Cochlea / Q000098:blood supply*; D005260:Female; D017078:Laser-Doppler Flowmetry; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D013701:Temporal Bone / Q000098:blood supply*