Items tagged “middle ear”

Acquired cholesteatomas make up 98% of all middle ear cholesteatomas and are almost always closely related to the tympanic membrane, from which most are thought to arise.  Clinical presentation The vast majority of acquired cholesteatomas develop as a result of chronic middle ear infection and...

Cholesterol granuloma (CG) is a special type of middle ear granulation tissue which is particularly prone to bleeding and is a frequent cause of a haemotympanum. Cholesterol granulomas represent the most common cystic lesion of the petrous apex.  Epidemiology Cholesterol granulomas typically a...

Middle ear effusions are frequent in children due to prominent adenoids and horizontal Eustachian tubes. These do not require imaging, and can be treated expectantly / medically / surgically with gromits. Eustachian tube dysfunction is the accepted aetiology, with resorption of air and extravasa...

The fissula ante fenestram (FAF), also known as the cochlear cleft, is a small connective tissue-filled cleft located where the tendon of the tensor tympani muscle turns laterally toward the malleus. It is situated immediately anterior to the oval window, and posterior to the cochleariform proce...

The tensor tympani is a short muscle in the middle ear that arises from the superior surface of the cartilaginous part of the Eustachian tube, the greater wing of the sphenoid, and the petrous part of the temporal bone. It passes across the tympanic cavity and inserts into the upper end of the h...

A useful mnemonic to remember innervation of the muscles of the middle ear is: S for Stapedius T for Tensor Tympani Mnemonic S: stapedius is supplied by a branch of the facial nerve - the Seventh cranial nerve. It is also the Smallest muscle in the body, and inserts onto the neck of Stapes. ...

The anterior epitympanic recess, also known as the supratubal recess, is a small discrete space in the epitympanum anterior to the malleus. It is separated from the epitympanum proper by the anterior attic bony plate, also known as the cog, which has its orientation in the coronal anatomical pla...