INTRODUCTION The aim of this study was to evaluate the condition of the ossicular chain in patients requiring surgery for cholesteatoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS In a retrospective analysis, the destruction of the individual and combined bony structures of the ear was described in 166 patients with cholesteatoma who went through surgery in our Otology Center between 2003 and 2009. RESULTS Tota...

The malleus and incus in the human middle ear are linked by the incudo-malleolar joint (IMJ). The mobility of the human IMJ under physiologically relevant acoustic stimulation and its functional role in middle-ear sound transmission are still debated. In this study, spatial stapes motions were measured during acoustic stimulation (0.25-8 kHz) in six fresh human temporal bones for two conditions...

On the basis of dissection of 24 bones of 12 black rats a systematic anatomical description was made and measurements of selected size parameters of the temporal bone were taken. Besides the main air space in the middle ear, the tympanic bulla, there are also additional air cells, namely the anterior and posterior epitympanic recesses, containing the head of the malleus and the body of the incu...

INTRODUCTION Cholesteatoma is traditionally diagnosed by otoscopic examination and treated by surgery. The necessity for imaging in an uncomplicated case is controversial. This study was planned to investigate the usefulness of a preoperative high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scan in depicting the status of middle ear structures in the presence of cholesteatoma and also to compare the ...

Introduction  Chronic otitis media can cause multiple middle ear pathogeneses. The surgeon should be aware of relation between ossicular chain erosion and other destructions because of the possibility of complications. Objective  This study aimed to investigate the rates of ossicular erosion in cases of patients with and without facial nerve canal destruction, who had undergone mastoidectomy du...

The aim of the study was to describe ossicle resorption in chronic otitis with cholesteatoma and correlate it with clinical parameters such as age, contralateral ear condition, tympanic membrane aspect, cholesteatoma pathogenesis and extension, associated lesions and hearing threshold. Preoperative clinical data were collected for 140 patients with chronic otitis with cholesteatoma, whose ossic...

The use of genetically modified mice can accelerate progress in auditory research. However, the fundamental profile of mouse hearing has not been thoroughly documented. In the current study, we explored mouse middle ear transmission by measuring sound-evoked vibrations at several key points along the ossicular chain using a laser-Doppler vibrometer. Observations were made through an opening in ...

Introduction The human auditory system includes the hearing and balance organs, and can be divided into three main elements: outer ear, middle ear and inner ear. The auditory ossicles are three very small bones: the malleus, incus and stapes, confined in the middle ear and coupled in chain. Their main function is to transmit sound energy from the tympanic membrane to the fluid-filled cochlea. A...

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS A piezoelectric sensor, floating piezoelectric microphone, driven by acoustic vibration of the ossicles, is one possible design for a microphone for a totally implantable cochlear implant. The purpose of the article was to study the frequency response of the floating piezoelectric microphone and to identify the ideal feasible position in the ossicular chain. STUDY DESIGN...

We have investigated the dependence of several anatomical parameters of the guinea-pig middle ear on body weight, and thus on age. In particular, the volumes of the tympanic and epitympanic cavities are found to increase with age, with the tympanic cavity growing somewhat more slowly. The mass of the incus appears to be independent of body weight. These results are important for establishing th...