Summary
The tectorial membrane (t.m.) of mammals, which lies over the organ of Corti, is made up of an agglomerate of protofibrils of varying degrees of hydration. Two types of protofibrils are clearly distinguishable in the mouse t.m. While type-A protofibrils are straight and unbranched (thickness: 110Å) demonstrating a periodic structure (period = 70Å), type-B protofibrils are branched and coiled (thickness: 150–200Å). These protofibrils could be systematically ordered according to the different t.m. zones. Type-A protofibrils predominate in the basal layer and in the entire middle zone, where they are interlaced with strongly hydrated type-B protofibrils. Weakly hydrated type-B protofibrils essentially make up the marginal zone (with the marginal net), the covering net, Hensen's stripe and the immediate contact layer with the limbus.
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This work was carried out in the Sonderforschungsbereich 50 “Kybernetik”, München, which is supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
The author thanks Prof. Dr.-Ing. E. Zwicker for his promoting interest and valuable discussions and Prof. Dr. G.A. Manley for his help in improving the English version of the manuscript. Mrs. A. Eberth and Miss R. Scheeler assisted technically, Mrs. A. Schumann typed the manuscript. For these experiments the scanning electron microscope of the Sonderforschungsbereich 51, the transmission electron microscope of the Lehrstuhl für Metallurgie and Metallkunde der Technischen Universität München and the TEM-Laboratory of PD Dr. med. M. Theopold were used. This help is gratefully acknowledged
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Kronester-Frei, A. Ultrastructure of the different zones of the tectorial membrane. Cell Tissue Res. 193, 11–23 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00221597
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00221597