Fig. 7.

Chest and lung images; middle ear. A) Volume reconstruction of a block of lung tissue, derived from cropped CT slices. In this representation, bone, airway, blood (including heart), interstitial tissues and gas exchange regions are all visible. See Supplementary material Fig. 7A.avi and Fig. 7B.avi for the associated animations using different software settings able to reveal other anatomical features and relationships that cannot be represented using static images. B) Mouse chest cavity, rendered to optimize visualization of bone and lung airways. The associated animation in Supplementary material (Fig. 7B.avi) dynamically illustrates the organization of the airway branching pattern amongst the lightly rendered lung lobes and alveolar tissues. C) The middle ear spaces and the cochlea are shown in one 12-µm-thick CT slice. D) Volume reconstruction of the middle-ear region on one side of the section shown in Fig. 7C enhances appreciation of the anatomy of the organ and the external ear canal. In Supplementary material (Fig. 7D.avi) a 360º animation of this reconstructed region provides an even higher level of understanding of the complexity and interrelatedness of the structures of the external and middle ear. The width of the imaged area is 7.2 mm.