POST-MORTEM CHANGES IN SURFACE-APPEARANCE AND CROSS-LINKS OF STEREOCILLIA IN GUINEA-PIG ORGAN OF CORTI EXAMINED BY HIGH-RESOLUTION SCANNING ELECTRON-MICROSCOPY

Post mortem changes in stereocilia were studied at time periods from 15 min to 4 h after circulation arrest. Within 15 min the surfaces of stereocilia from both inner and outer hair cells in the basal turn of the cochlea were more granular and links between stereocilia were thicker and fewer than normal. With increasing time, surface irregularities of stereocilia became more pronounced, more stereocilia became fused, links became more globular and fewer in number and damage spread progressively to more apical regions of the cochlea.