Visualization and assessment of saccular duct and endolymphatic sinus

CONCLUSION The saccular duct and endolymphatic sinus run in the bony groove, before reaching the orifice of the vestibular aqueduct. We first clinically visualized this sulciform groove using three-dimensional (3D) cone beam CT images. This strategy can be useful to assess the condition of the saccular duct and endolymphatic sinus concerning the longitudinal flow system of endolymph. OBJECTIVE To assess the saccular duct and endolymphatic sinus in the endolymphatic system in order to advance clinical studies on inner ear dysfunction. METHODS The sulciform groove of the saccular duct and endolymphatic sinus of human subjects was analyzed by cone beam CT and compared with that of a cadaver. RESULTS We could obtain reconstructed 3D CT images of the sulciform groove of the saccular duct and endolymphatic sinus using several CT window levels.