Inside the inner ear , there is a structure called the endolymphatic pocket . It is a tiny feature encased in dense os , so although it has been jazz to skill for hundred , it has been very hard to study . While scientists had their suspicions about its true function , only now have they eventually reassert it .
The endolymphatic pocket is a pressure valve for the liquid in the inner ear . It is made of a thin roadblock of cells that expand and open , thus regulating the atmospheric pressure . As reported in the JournaleLife , the inside auricle is crucial to our sense of balance and hearing , so the role of the endolymphatic sac can not be understated .
While studying the intimate ear of zebrafish , an animal model commonly used in skill , the research team witnessed a peculiar behavior . The endolymphatic sac in these little Pisces were inflating and deflating like clockwork , so they fix out to look into what was happening .
" scientist have sleep with about the existence of the endolymphatic pouch for maybe 300 years , but it was n’t sympathise exactly what it does , " Colorado - source Professor Sean Megason , from Harvard Medical School , said in astatement . " It ’s even often missing in role model or textbook cartoons of the inner ear . We did n’t set out to study it , but we became interested once we saw its striking behavior . "
find the account has not been easy . The initial analysis used mutant zebrafish with large endolymphatic sacs than normal . The team witness that the larger one were not equally upright at deflating , which contribute them to the suspicion that the answer might be at a cellular level – and they were right .
The team used gamy - resolution negatron micrographs of the inner ear . They learn that the mobile phone in the pocket are organized in flap - like membrane projection that stretch out from the cells . When the flap overlap , they form a barrier . When it expands , they are pulled aside , get the fluid catamenia out of the sac and relieve pressure .
" Every once in a while , you hear about a house being destroy by a water heater because its insistency press release valve was bad , " Swinburne added . " It ’s authoritative to have these safety command systems in our organ as well . "
" This subject was definitely a case of sightedness is believing , " Megason said . " It was very significant to have cutting - edge microscopy on many different fronts . Each of these different microscope technique gave us a different piece of the puzzle and when put together , we get the whole picture . "
