title: Fiber Arrangement in the Rat Tympanic Membrane.
abstract: The fiber arrangement in the pars tensa of the rat tympanic membrane (TM) was observed using a high resolution scanning electron microscope. The entire pars tensa is composed of fibrils with diameter of approximately 25 nm. These fibrils can be grouped into radial, circular, parabolic, and oblique fibers as reported in other mammals. The radial fibrils interweave into a planar form rather than into discrete cylindrical fibers. Before attaching to the manubrium and tympanic ring, the radial fibrils bend and cross neighboring fibrils to form a random fibril network, and change their direction from perpendicular to somewhat parallel to the manubrium and tympanic ring. The circular fibrils form cylindrical fibers near the peripheral part of the TM while closer to the manubrium, they form planar bundles. The observed fiber morphology and arrangement may provide helpful information in improving numerical models for the TM's acoustical response and designing a fibrous graft for the repair of TM perforations. Anat Rec, 299:1531-1539, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biophysics, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.|Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.|Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Sumit K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Agrawal
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biophysics, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada. wkwan@uwo.ca.|Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada. wkwan@uwo.ca.|Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada. wkwan@uwo.ca.|Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada. wkwan@uwo.ca.
authors.forename: Hanif M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Ladak
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada. hladak@uwo.ca.|Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada. hladak@uwo.ca.
authors.forename: Wankei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003094:Collagen / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D005260:Female; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014432:Tympanic Membrane / Q000648:ultrastructure*
chemical_list: D003094:Collagen
keywords: collagen fiber organization; rat; scanning electron microscopy; tympanic membrane; tympanic membrane perforation