Ultrastructure of Sensory Hair Cells (TEM)
Transmission electron micrographs from the saccule of a moray eel. Abbreviations: c - cuticular plate; F - filaments making up kinocilium; HC - hair cell; Mv - microvilli on supporting cell; N - nucleus; S - stereocilia; SC support cell. From Popper, A.N. (1979). Ultrastructure of the sacculus and lagena in a moray eel (Gymnothorax sp.). J. Morphol. 161:241‑256.
Myelinated nerve fiber in the saccular epithelium of a moray eel.
Cross-section of a kinocilium from the saccule of a moray eel.
Images from the saccular epithelium of a moray eel showing innervation of the hair cell (left) and the detail of the cuticular plate (c) and the “roots” of the stereocilia (upper right).
Other TEM Studies
Cross-Sections Through a Sensory Hair Cell
The central drawing indicates levels in a hair cell from a gourami at which the TEM’s were taken. Popper, A.N., and Saidel, W.M. (1990). Variations in receptor cell innervation in the saccule of a teleost fish ear. Hear. Res. 46:211-227.
Type I Hair Cells in the Saccule
There are two “types” of hair cells in the saccule of the goldfish (and probably other species). These cells are similar to type I cells in mammals in many ways. Lanford, P.J., Platt, C., and Popper, A.N. (2000). Structure and function in the saccule of the goldfish (Carassius auratus): A model of diversity in the non-amniote ear. Hear. Res. 143:1-13.
Grow it.
Afferent innervation of the hair cells of the crista ampullaris in a goldfish. One nerve surrounds the bases of multiple hair cells. Lanford, P.J., and Popper, A.N. (1996). A unique afferent structure in the crista ampullaris of the goldfish. J. Comp. Neurol. 366:572‑579.