Ultrastructural changes in the organ of Corti and in the ganglion spiral cochleae after vitamin A deficiency.

Guinea pigs were fed a vitamin A free diet and the cochleae of these animals were studied with the light and electron microscope. No changes could be found after ten weeks of vitamin A deficiency, but after 19 weeks the experimental animals showed a slight hypertrophy of the otic capsule, an accumulation of lysosomes in the sensory cells and a disruption and disintegration of the Hensen body. In the ganglion spiral cochleae ganglion cells appeared, filled with different myelin figures or honeycomb-like inclusions. Furthermore, the myelin sheath was split and sometimes filled with circular lamellar complexes and glycogen. These morphological findings together with the evidence of high concentrations of vitamin A in the organ of Corti support the hypothesis that vitamin A may be important for the function of the n. acusticus.