The mastoid air cell system has traditionally been considered to have a passive role in gas exchange and pressure regulation of the middle ear possibly with some acoustic function. However, more evidence has focused on the mucosa of the mastoid, which may play a more active role in regulation of middle ear pressure. In this study we have applied micro-CT scanning on a series of three human temp...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The mastoid portion of the temporal bone has multiple functional roles in the organism, including regulation of pressure in the middle ear and protection of the inner ear. We investigated whether mastoid pneumatization plays a role in the protection of vital structures in the temporal bone during direct lateral trauma. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study was performed on 20 ...

OBJECTIVE We sought to assess the complication rates following cochlear implantation in canal wall down mastoid cavities in adults and children. DATA SOURCES A systematic review of English articles from PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library. Additional studies were identified by reviewing the reference lists of the originally identified studies. REVIEW METHODS Studies wer...

BACKGROUND This report compares the different surgical methods for large and pneumatized mastoid cavity (large cavity) and small and poorly pneumatized mastoid cavity (small cavity) cholesteatomas and their results for the facial nerve and mastoid cavity. METHODS In the period from January 1996 to December 2000, 101 ears with cholesteatomas underwent tympanoplasty with mastoidectomy. In the l...

OBJECTIVES Combined mastoidectomy is generally preferred to tympanoplasty alone when treating patients with chronic otitis media (COM), particularly when temporal bone computed tomography (TBCT) shows that the mastoid cavity contains opacification of soft tissue density. However, in cases with Eustachian tube dysfunction, a mastoid cavity volume may be a burden to its function. We hypothesized ...

A case of cutaneo-cutaneous fistula superior to the external auditory canal extending from the mastoid skin to the skin over the zygoma is reported. The adult patient presented with recurrent discharge and swelling of the skin over the zygoma and mastoid bones. Definitive treatment was in the form of complete excision of the fistula tract.

A 34-year-old man lacerated his forehead and was brought to the emergency room. Skull films (fig s. 1 A and 1 B) showed small and large rad iolucent , air-containing ce lls extending from the upper posterior reg ion of the mastoid area on the left side, across th e temporal-occipital suture into th e squamous portion of the occipital bone, and into the posterior part of the parietal bone. The s...