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A study of the functions of the human labyrinth and of the labyrinth tests : with the submission of a design for the assessment of the labyrinth functions.

thesis
posted on 2023-05-26, 19:45 authored by Lyrmont, Michel
In the General Introduction, the raison Petre of this thesis was outlined, and its general structure formulated and justified. The major advances made in labyrinthology and the anatomical structure of the apparatus were outlined in the first two chapters, The purpose of these two chapters was to provide the reader with an overview of the status quo of labyrinthdlogy as a discipline, and to familiarize him with the structure of the apparatus, as frequent references to the anatomy of the system were made in subsequent chapters. There exists, in labyrinthology, a considerable body of disagreement as to what constitutes an adequate stimulatory technique, and an adequate mode of response observation. The major areas of contention were therefore outlined, and then individually investigated in the body of this thesis. Upon the conclusions thus reached, a comprehensive technique for the assessment of the labyrinth functions was finally formulated. From the above mentioned investigations, it was concluded that the so called Second Law of Ewald is not valid when applied to man. It was also concluded that of all the stimulatory techniques employed, the rotation test was the most suitable for the stimulation of the semicircular canals, provided the stimulation was administered at threshold. As for the response, it was concluded that the nystagmus phenomenon is the most acceptable form of expression of labyrinthine activity, provided a criterion of occurrence vs non-occurrence was used instead of post threshold parameters such as duration and amplitude It was also concluded that to be comprehensive, a technique must include the stimulation of the otoliths, and that each pair of saccules and utricles can be independently assessed by the administration of specific linear accelerations, resulting in an ocular countermotion response. It was also demonstrated that there are several patterns of post stimulatory nystagmus which are said to be expressive of specific pathologies. This however was proved to be incorrect, as unusual patterns of nystagmus can occur in normal subjects. A comprehensive assessment technique was formulated in the last chapter of this thesis. The technique thus formulated in the last chapter permits the individual assessment of each canal, and the assessment of each pair of otolithic sub-organs. When a pathology is present on the oculomotor tract,. the technique permits the location of its precise site.

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Copyright 1972 the Author - The University is continuing to endeavour to trace the copyright owner(s) and in the meantime this item has been reproduced here in good faith. We would be pleased to hear from the copyright owner(s). Thesis (M.A.) - University of Tasmania, 1972. Bibliography: p. 301-313

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