The ultrastructure of tympanosclerotic tissue has been studied and compared with other processes of fibrogenesis and calcification. Evidence is presented of the presence of large numbers of extracellular membrane-bound matrix vesicles and their role as the site of primary calcification in tympanosclerosis. Calcified spherular structures are formed and fuse into larger structures lined by a lamina limitans indicating the lines of arrested calcification in the collagenous matrix.
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