utricle

Background: The vestibular end organs (semicircular canals, saccule and utricle) monitor head orientation and motion. Vestibular stimulation by means of controlled translations, rotations or tilts of the head represents a routine manoeuvre to test the vestibular apparatus in a laboratory or clinical setting. In diagnostics, it is used to assess oculomotor postural or perceptual responses, whose abnormalities can reveal subclinical vestibular dysfunctions due to pathology, aging or drugs. Objective: The assessment of the vestibular function requires the alignment of the motion stimuli as close as possible with reference axes of the head, for instance the cardinal axes naso-occipital, interaural, cranio-caudal...

PURPOSE: To explore the efficacy of different approaches of seminal vesiculoscopy surgery and the predictive factors of good treatment outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 68 patients who underwent seminal vesiculoscopy for hematospermia in our hospital from January 2015 to January 2021. According to different surgical approaches, they were divided into three groups: natural ejaculatory ducts (method A, 45 cases), assisted transurethral resection/incision of ejaculatory ducts (method B, 14 cases), fenestration in prostatic utricle (method C, 9 cases)...

BACKGROUND: At a time when increasing attention is being paid to the limitations and risks of in vitro fertilisation techniques, surgeries to improve male fertility are attracting growing interest. METHODS: Systematic review based on a Pubmed search of surgeries to improve male fertility. RESULTS: Vasovasostomy (VV) gives patency rates of 70-97% and pregnancy rates of 30-76%. Vasoepididymostomy (VE) gives patency rates of 80-84%, with pregnancy rates of 40-44%...

Information about dynamic head motion is conveyed by a central 'striolar' zone of vestibular hair cells and afferent neurons in the inner ear. How vestibular hair cells are tuned to transduce dynamic stimuli at the molecular level is not well understood. Here we take advantage of the differential expression pattern of tmc1 , tmc2a and tmc2b , which encode subunits of the mechanotransduction complex in zebrafish vestibular hair cells. To test the role of various combinations of Tmc subunits in transducing dynamic head movements, we measured reflexive eye movements induced by high frequency stimuli in single versus double tmc mutants...

Purpose: To investigate the use of ureteroscope-assisted laparoscopic surgery (UALS) in treating symptomatic prostatic utricle (PU) in children. Materials and Methods: Data on surgically treated cases of PU at the Department of Urology in Hunan Children's Hospital between September 2014 and September 2022 were retrospectively collected and analyzed. The diagnosis was confirmed by cystourethroscopy followed by ureteroscopy, and PU was excised by ureteroscope-assisted laparoscopy. Results: A total of 21 patients with PU were enrolled in this study...

Perilymph Fistula (PLF), abnormal communication between the fluid-filled space of the inner ear and the air-filled space of the middle ear, is a significant cause of vestibular and auditory symptoms. This is a retrospective study of 22 cases treated with PLF repair surgery, selected based on our surgical indication. We analyzed the characteristics of these 22 cases and evaluated the efficacy of PLF repair surgery in treating vestibular and auditory symptoms. Cases with antecedent events had significantly shorter intervals before surgery...

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the clinical experience in the treatment of sexual intercourse-related hematuria in males using biopsy forceps, electrocoagulation and holmium laser cauterization. METHODS: From July 2018 to April 2022, we treated 11 male patients with intercourse-related hematuria using biopsy forceps, electrocoagulation and holmium laser cauterization. The patients ranged in age from 29 to 47 years, with clinical manifestations of gross hematuria, blood dripping from the urethral orifice or blood clots in the urine after sexual intercourse or erection, 3 with hemospermia, but none with pain...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical effect and safety of transutricular seminal vesiculoscopy in the treatment of refractory hemospermia. METHODS: Using 6Fr ureteroscopy through the prostatic utricle, we treated 103 cases of refractory hemospermia with distal seminal duct obstructive lesions, including 12 cases complicated by distal seminal duct cyst. We rinsed the seminal duct cavity, cleaned out the stones, removed the cyst wall with holmium laser and followed up the patients for 12 months postoperatively...

BACKGROUND: Children with hypospadias are at risk of serious physical and mental health problems, including abnormal urination, sexual dysfunction, and infertility. The sole available treatment is the surgical restoration of genital appearance and function. Proximal hypospadias (PH) correction is more challenging and carries a higher risk of complications than does distal hypospadias correction, with a higher likelihood of postoperative complications requiring additional surgery, resulting in considerable economic and psychological strain for families...

INTRODUCTION: The prostatic utricle (PU) consists of the caudal remnant of the Müllerian duct and the urogenital sinus. The term "vagina masculina" is used if other Müllerian structures are associated with the PU. This work aims to investigate the incidence, management, and follow up of enlarged PUs and Müllerian remnants in males with posterior hypospadias. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study presents a retrospective review of cases presented with posterior hypospadias over a 5-year period...

Geometric morphometrics (GM) is a powerful analytical tool that enables complete quantification of shapes. Its use in Botany has a great potential for complementing plant evolutionary and ecological studies. Taxonomic delimitation in Carex has been complicated due to reduction of characters and frequent homoplasy. This problem is more marked in cases where the species exhibit dwarfism. South America is the continent with the least understood Carex flora. The systematic relationships of some bizarre-looking groups were not unraveled until molecular phylogenetic studies resolved their relationships...

Amniotes evolved a unique postsynaptic terminal in the inner ear vestibular organs called the calyx that receives both quantal and non-quantal synaptic inputs from type I sensory hair cells. The non-quantal synaptic current includes an ultrafast component that has been hypothesized to underlie the exceptionally high synchronization index (vector strength) of vestibular afferent neurons in response to sound and vibration. Here we present three lines of evidence supporting the hypothesis that non-quantal transmission is responsible for synchronized vestibular action potentials of short latency in the guinea pig utricle of either sex...

The three otolithic endorgans of the inner ear are known to be involved in sound detection in different teleost fishes, yet their relative roles for auditory-vestibular functions within the same species remain unclear. In zebrafish (Danio rerio), saccule and utricle are thought to play key functions in encoding auditory and vestibular information, respectively, but the biological function of the lagena is not clear. We hypothesized that the zebrafish saccule serves as a primary auditory endorgan, making it more vulnerable to noise exposure, and that lagena might have an auditory function given its connectivity to the saccule and dominant vestibular function of the utricle...

There is well-documented diversity in the organization of inner ear hair cells in fishes; this variation is thought to reflect the differing functional requirements of species across a range of ecological niches. However, relatively little is known about interspecific variation (and its potential ecological implications) in the number and density of inner ear hair cells in elasmobranchs (sharks, skates, and rays). In this study, we quantified inner ear hair cells in the saccule, lagena, utricle, and macula neglecta of 9 taxonomically and ecologically distinct shark species...

PURPOSE: This tutorial reviews effects of environmental stressors like blast overpressures and other well-known acoustic contaminants (continuous, intermittent, and impulsive noise) on hearing, tinnitus, vestibular, and balance-related functions. Based on the overall outcome of these effects, detailed consideration is given to the health and well-being of individuals. METHOD: Because hearing loss and tinnitus are consequential in affecting quality of life, novel neuromodulation paradigms are reviewed for their positive abatement and treatment-related effects...

BACKGROUND: Aminoglycoside antibiotics are used for treating certain acute infections. However, these drugs cause ototoxicity by inducing inner ear hair cell death. AIMS/OBJECTIVES: We investigated the protective effect of a nanoemulsion of the carotenoid astaxanthin on mammalian inner ear hair cells against neomycin-induced ototoxicity. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Dose-response relationship, quantification of hair cell loss, and reactive oxygen species production were assayed in response to neomycin with and without astaxanthin in cultured utricles of CBA/N mice...

Trichomes are specialized epidermal cells in the aerial plant parts. Trichome development proceeds in three stages, determination of cell fate, specification, and morphogenesis. Most genes responsible for these processes have been identified in the unicellular branched leaf trichomes from the model Arabidopsis thaliana. Less is known about the molecular basis of multicellular trichome formation across flowering plants, especially those formed in floral organs of early diverging angiosperms. Here, we aim to identify the genetic regulatory network (GRN) underlying multicellular trichome development in the kettle-shaped trap flowers of Aristolochia (Aristolochiaceae)...

BACKGROUND: Balance assessments that intentionally alter the reliability of visual and proprioceptive feedback (e.g., standing on foam with eyes closed) have become a standard approach for identifying vestibular mediated balance dysfunction in older adults. However, such assessments cannot discern which specific element of the vestibular system (e.g., semicircular canal, otolith, or combined canal-otolith) underlies the observed age-related changes in balance performance. The present study was designed to determine the associations between specific sources of vestibular noise and quantitative measures of quiet stance postural control measured during standard "vestibular" balance conditions...

In mammals, spatial orientation is synaptically-encoded by sensory hair cells of the vestibular labyrinth. Vestibular hair cells (VHCs) harbor synaptic ribbons at their presynaptic active zones (AZs), which play a critical role in molecular scaffolding and facilitate synaptic release and vesicular replenishment. With advancing age, the prevalence of vestibular deficits increases; yet, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood and the possible accompanying morphological changes in the VHC synapses have not yet been systematically examined...

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to elucidate the ossification process of the otic capsule in postnatal C57BL/6 mice and depict the three-dimensional (3D) process of otoconial mineralization in vivo. METHODS: The otic capsules of C57BL/6 mice were stained with alizarin red and imaged/compared using micro-computed tomography on postnatal day (P) between P0 and P8, P10, P15, and P30 and 3-4 months old (P3-4Mo). We reconstructed 3D images of the otic capsule and otoconia and measured the bone mineral density using x-ray absorptiometry on each age...