可视化内耳：阐明迷路结构与功能的历史视角与未来方向。

文献信息

中文摘要

内耳是人体中最精细、最复杂的结构之一。它深藏于颞骨岩部内，包含听觉和平衡器官。我们对内耳结构和功能的理解在很大程度上依赖于成像和新可视化模式的进步。本综述综合了内耳结构研究的历史和技术进展，追溯了从早期哲学推测和粗略解剖到显微镜、连续组织学、放射成像以及当代高分辨率数字模式的发展。我们概述了内耳研究的三个主要时代：古典时期，当时耳朵被认为仅仅是听觉器官；文艺复兴和早期现代时期，以变革性的解剖插图和迷路结构的认识为标志；以及现代时期，其特征是前庭功能的实验证明、高分辨率原位成像以及定量形态学分析的改进。最近的几项创新，包括微型计算机断层扫描、对比增强成像、超分辨率显微镜、高场磁共振成像和先进的三维分割技术，显著提高了空间分辨率和软组织可视化。因此，这些发展使得骨迷路和膜迷路结构能够越来越精确地重建。这些方法正在将该领域从描述性解剖学转向整合性、定量和功能信息的模型内耳生物学。此外，对活体成像的探索正在推动解剖成像的界限。本综述将当代进展置于其历史背景中。通过这样做，我们强调了对我们理解内耳结构、进化和疾病最具影响力的贡献，并确定了尚未解决的问题。活体和死后原位可视化模式的持续改进有望将解剖细节与生理功能和临床表型联系起来，推动基础科学和转化耳科学的发展。

英文摘要

The inner ear is among the most intricate and complex structures in the body. Housed deep within the petrous temporal bone, it contains the organs for audition and balance. Our understanding of its structure and function has relied heavily on advances in imaging and novel visualization modalities. This review synthesizes the historical and technological progression of research on inner ear structure, tracing developments from early philosophical speculation and gross dissection to microscopy, serial histology, radiographic imaging, and contemporary high-resolution digital modalities. We outline three major eras in inner ear investigation: the classical period, during which the ear was considered solely an auditory organ; the Renaissance and early modern period, marked by transformative anatomical illustration and the recognition of labyrinthine structure; and the modern era, characterized by experimental demonstration of vestibular function, high-resolution in situ imaging, and the refinement of quantitative morphological analyses. Several recent innovations, including micro-computed tomography, contrast-enhanced imaging, super-resolution microscopy, high-field magnetic resonance imaging, and advanced three-dimensional segmentation techniques, have substantially improved spatial resolution and soft-tissue visualization. As a result, these developments have enabled increasingly precise reconstruction of both osseous and membranous labyrinthine structures. These approaches are shifting the field from descriptive anatomy toward integrative, quantitative, and functionally informed models of inner ear biology. Furthermore, forays into in vivo imaging are pushing the bounds of anatomical imaging. This review situates contemporary advances within their historical context. In doing so, we highlight the most impactful contributions to our understanding of inner ear structure, evolution, and disease-and identify questions that remain unresolved. Continued refinement of in vivo and post-mortem in situ visualization modalities promises to bridge anatomical detail with physiological function and clinical phenotype, advancing basic science and translational otology.