Human stapes crura: surface bone architecture: scanning electron microscopic findings.

Human stapes crura obtained at the time of stapedectomy for clinical otosclerosis have been studied after removal of the mucosal and periosteal layers by treatment with hydrogen peroxide and ultrasonification. With the scanning electron microscope, four basic architectural patterns are evident: honeycomb, fibrillar, compact and pitted. The significance of these patterns is as yet unclear, but they do appear to be in intimate relationship one to another and perhaps are varying stages in a single process.