Early post-mortem change of the crista ampullaris

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Abstract
Summary Post-mortem change (autolysis) of the sensory and the secretory epithelia was studied by means of the light and the electron microscope. The first ultrastructurally recognizible sign of autolysis occurred 10–15 min after death in the mitochondria of the hair cells and their adjacent nerve endings. The morphology of hair cells was occasionally well preserved 30 min post-mortem, but after 90 min or more autolytic changes were invariably severe. The secretory epithelium, however, was considerably less affected by autolysis than the hair cells during the first 5 h after death.