Blind pouch
From the posterior wall of the saccule a canal, the endolymphatic duct , is given off; this duct is joined by the utriculosaccular duct , and then passes along the vestibular aqueduct and ends in a blind pouch, the endolymphatic sac , on the posterior surface of the petrous portion of the temporal bone , where it is in contact with the dura mater . Studies suggest that the endolymphatic duct and endolymphatic sac perform both absorptive and secretory ,[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] [ 4] as well as phagocytic[ 5] and immunodefensive, functions.[ 6]
Neoplasms of the endolymphatic sac are very rare tumors.
^ Schuknecht HF. Pathology of the Ear. Philadelphia, Pa: Lea & Febiger; 1993:45–47, 50–51, 62, 64, 101
^ Wackym, P. A.; Friberg, U.; Bagger-Sjöbäck, D.; Linthicum, F. H.; Friedmann, I.; Rask-Andersen, H. (August 1987). "Human endolymphatic sac: possible mechanisms of pressure regulation" . The Journal of Laryngology and Otology . 101 (8): 768–779. doi :10.1017/s0022215100102713 . ISSN 0022-2151 . PMID 3655528 .
^ Yeo, S. W.; Gottschlich, S.; Harris, J. P.; Keithley, E. M. (June 1995). "Antigen diffusion from the perilymphatic space of the cochlea" . The Laryngoscope . 105 (6): 623–628. doi :10.1288/00005537-199506000-00012 . ISSN 0023-852X . PMID 7769947 .
^ Rask-Andersen, H.; Danckwardt-Lillieström, N.; Linthicum, F. H.; House, W. F. (February 1991). "Ultrastructural evidence of a merocrine secretion in the human endolymphatic sac" . The Annals of Otology, Rhinology, and Laryngology . 100 (2): 148–156. doi :10.1177/000348949110000211 . ISSN 0003-4894 . PMID 1992902 .
^ Fukazawa, K.; Sakagami, M.; Matsunaga, T.; Fujita, H. (July 1991). "Endocytotic activity of the free floating cells and epithelial cells in the endolymphatic sac: an electron microscopic study" . The Anatomical Record . 230 (3): 425–433. doi :10.1002/ar.1092300315 . ISSN 0003-276X . PMID 1867416 .
^ Wackym, P. A.; Friberg, U.; Linthicum, F. H.; Bagger-Sjöbäck, D.; Bui, H. T.; Hofman, F.; Rask-Andersen, H. (May–June 1987). "Human endolymphatic sac: morphologic evidence of immunologic function" . The Annals of Otology, Rhinology, and Laryngology . 96 (3 Pt 1): 276–281. doi :10.1177/000348948709600308 . ISSN 0003-4894 . PMID 3300505 .