OBJECTIVETo establish a guinea pig model of tympanosclerosis and investigate the development and progression of tympanosclerosis in the tympanic membranes and middle ear mucosa.

METHODSTwenty-one healthy guinea pigs were subjected inoculation of 1x10(8)/L Staphylococcus aureus into the left middle ear cavities under general anaesthesia, with the right ears as the control, to establish models of chronic purulent otitis media. The animals were sacrificed by decapitation after 1, 3 and 6 months after model establishment for histological examination of the middle ear mucosa.

RESULTSThe histological changes of tympanosclerosis occurred in some of the animals 3 months after model establishment, and the extent of calcium deposition and fibrosis across the mucosa were positively correlated with the duration of chronic purulent otitis media.

CONCLUSIONTympanosclerosis may occur in some guinea pigs after inoculation of Staphylococcus aureus into the middle ear cavity, and this model can be useful for study of tympanosclerosis.