Lecture 1KURSK STATE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

Department of otorhinolaryngology

N.A. Konoplya

OTORHINOLARYNGOLOGY

SELECTED PROBLEMS

Textbook for Medical Students

Kursk – 2005

Printed according the decision

of the editorial-publishing

council of the KSMU

Konoplya N.A. Otorhinolaryngology Selected Problems. [Text] textbook for Medical

Students / Edited by professor S.Z. Piskounov, associate professor V.I.

Narolina. - Kursk: KSMU. - 2005. - 248 p.

The Textbook should be used by foreign students in reading up before practical

classes. The Textbook present anatomy and physiology of the nose, pharynx,

larynx and ear. It cover the problems of propedeutics, development, diagnostics,

treatment and prophylaxis of the ENT-diseases. The lectures are based on the

recent developments in otorhinolaringology.

Revised by Head of the Othorhinolaryngology Departament of the BSMU, doctor of

Medicine, Professor N.A. Arefyeva.

Computer registration: Gavriliouk V.P.

© N.A. Konoplya, KSMU, 2005

Contents

Part 1.Anatomy and physiology of the ear……………………....7

Part 2.The nose, paranasal sinuses and pharynx………………24

Part 3.Anatomy and physiology of the larynx, trachea bronchial tree

and esophagus……………………………….....43

Part 4.Diseases of the ear…………………………………………55

Part 5.Complications of otitis media………………………………75

Part 6.Diseases of the nose and paranasal sinuses……………97

Part 7.Pharynx diseases…………………………………………..127

Part 8.Diseases of the larynx……………………………………...144

Part 9.Tumors and infectious granulomas of the upper

respiratory tract……………………………………………..157

Part 10.Traumas, foreign bodies, hemorrhages in the ear,

nose, pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi and esophagus and emergent aid in

these cases…………………………179

Part 11.Non-suppurative diseases of the ear……………………..212

Part 1

ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE EAR

ANATOMY

The ear can be divided anatomically and clinically into three parts - the

external ear, the middle ear and the internal ear. The external and middle ears

are concerned primarily with the transmission of sound. The internal ear

functions both as the organ of hearing and as the part of the balance system of

the body.

THE EXTERNAL EAR

The external ear consists of the pinna or auricle and the external acoustic

meatus.

The Auricle

The auricle has lobule, tragus, antitragus, helix, antihelix, shapha, fossa

triangularis , cavum conchae (Fig. 1).

The auricle has two surfaces, lateral and medial. The underlying skeleton of the

auricle consists of a plate of yellow elastic cartilage, except for lobule which

is composed only of fat and fibro-areolar tissue. The skin on the lateral

surface is closely adherent to the perichondrium. The auricle is attached to the

side of the head by ligaments and the largely functionless anterior, superior

and posterior auricular muscles.

The External Acoustic Meatus

In adults the external acoustic meatus measures about 24 mm from the introitus

to the tympanic membrane, its medial limit. Since the tympanic membrane lies

obliquely at the inner end of the meatus, the anterior and inferior walls are

longer than the posterior and superior walls. At the junction of the inferior

wall with the tympanic membrane there is a depression, the inferior meatal

recess. This recess can be difficult to see and can contain an unsuspected

reservoir of debris in an infected ear.

The meatus is composed of two parts: an outer or lateral third, which has a

cartilaginous skeleton continuous with that of the auricle, and an inner or

medial two-thirds which has a bony skeleton (Fig. 2). The general direction of

the cartilaginous meatus is medially , upwards and backwards whilst that of the

bony meatus is medially, slightly downwards and forwards. There are two

constrictions in the canal, one at the junction of the cartilaginous and bony

part and the other in the osseous part. The meatus may be partially straightened

In an adult by pulling the auricle upwards, outwards and backwards. Inconstant

deficiencies of the cartilaginous meatus occur, known as the fissures of

Santorini, and they may provide a pathway for infections to spread from the

meatus to the parotid gland and superficial mastoid tissue or vice versa.

The skin lining the external meatus is continuous with that of the auricle. The

sebaceous glands, ceruminous glands and hair follicles are present only in the

cartilaginous portion. The skin is closely adherent to the underlying tissues,

and for this reason furuncles in the cartilaginous portion of the canal are

extremely painful owing to the increased tension in the tissue.

The anterior wall of the external meatus forms part of the temporomandibular

joint. The superior wall is a part of the base of the skull. It separates the

external acoustic meatus from the middle fossa of the skull. The inferior wall

is contiguous with the parotid gland. The posterior wall of the external

acoustic meatus is also the anterior wall of the mastoid process.

The auricle and external meatus are supplied by branches of the

Vth(auriculotemporal n.), VIIth(temporal branches) and Xth(auricular branches)

cranial nerves. The medial or posterior surface of the auricle is supplied by

fibres of the great auricular nerve (C2 and C3) and the lesser occipital nerve

(C2).

The blood supply of the auricle comes from the superficial temporal(E.C.A.) and

posterior auricular (E.C.A.) arteries. The meatus is also supplied by these

vessels but it receives a further supply in its inner part from the deep

auricular branch of the maxillary artery(E.C.A.). The veins accompany the

arteries.

The lymphatics of the auricle and external meatus drain anteriorly into the

pre-auricular (parotid) glands, inferiorly into the superficial cervical nodes

along the external jugular vein, and posteriorly into the retroauricular

(mastoid) glands. The retro-auricular glands also drain adjacent areas of the

scalp, infection of which may produce swelling and tenderness of the mastoid

area. This can lead to an erroneous diagnosis of acute mastoiditis.

Tympanic Membrane

The tympanic membrane, or drumhead (Fig. 3), separates the external meatus from

the middle ear and functionally is the part of the middle ear. The rim of the

tympanic membrane consists of a fibrocartilage ring deficient in its superior

part. This ring sits in a bony sulcus, the tympanic annulus, which lies at the

medial end of the external meatus. There is a deficiency superiorly of both the

cartilaginous annulus and the bony annulus known as the notch of Rivinus. It

lies medial to the pars flaccida of the drum. The tympanic membrane is thin and

when examined with an auriscope has a pearly grey colour with a triangular

bright area, the cone of light, extending from the centre (the umbo) downwards

and forwards. The membrane has an outer layer of squamous epithelium continuous

with that of the meatus, a middle layer of fibrous tissue which has radiating

and circular fibres, and an inner layer of mucous membrane continuous with the

lining of the tympanic cavity. The fibrous tissue layer is deficient in the area

of membrane bounded by the notch of Rivinus which, being less tense, is known as

the pars flaccida or Shrapnell's membrane. The lower margins of this part are

thickened and extend from the ends of the notch of Rivinus to the lateral (or

short) process of the malleus forming the anterior and posterior folds of the

membrane. The rest of the tympanic membrane is known as the pars tensa. The

prominence between umbo and lateral process of the malleus is a handle of the

malleus.

The nerve supply of the outer surface of the drum is similar to that of the

adjacent external meatus. The anterior portion is therefore supplied by the

auriculotemporal branch of mandibular nerve, and the posterior portion is

supplied by the auricular branch of the vagus. The inner surface is supplied

from the tympanic branch of the glossopharyngeal nerve.

The outer surface of the tympanic membrane has a blood supply from the deep

auricular branch of the maxillary artery. The inner surface receives branches

from the posterior auricular artery and from the maxillary artery through its

tympanic branch.

THE MIDDLE EAR

The middle-ear cleft in the temporal bone includes the Eustachian tube, the

tympanic cavity, and the aditus which leads posteriorly to the mastoid antrum

and air cells. Anteriorly the Eustachian tube opens into the nasopharynx from

which the cleft develops in early fetal life.

The Tympanic Cavity

The tympanic cavity, lies between the tympanic membrane laterally and the

labyrinth medially. Its upper part extending above the tympanic membrane is

known as the epitympanic recess or attic, the lower part extending below the

level of the floor of the external auditory meatus is referred to as the

hypotympanum, the middle part is known as the mesotympanum (Fig. 4).

The cavity may be described as a 6-sided box, frequently likened in shape to a

match-box standing on end with its vertical length greater than its breadth, but

narrow in depth, particularly portion where the basal turn of the cochlea forms

a bulge on the medial wall. The roof of the cavity is formed by a thin plate of

bone (the tegmen tympani), formed partly by the petrous part of the temporal

bone and the squamous part. This plate of bone also forms the roof of the

mastoid antrum and separates the tympanic cavity and antrum from the middle

fossa of the skull. The floor, which is also thin, separates the cavity from the

bulb of the internal jugular vein which may be exposed by bony deficiensy. The

tympanic branch of the glossopharyngeal nerve enters the cavity through the

floor.

The anterior wall in its lower portion is formed by a thin plate of bone

separating the cavity from the internal carotid artery. The upper portion has

two openings, the lower one being the auditory (pharyngotympanic or Eustachian)

tube and above it lies the canal for the tensor tympani muscle.

The posterior wall is wider than the anterior wall and its upper part the aditus

connects the epitympanic recess (attic) with the mastoid antrum. Below the

aditus a bony projection, the pyramid, gives exit to the tendon of the stapedius

muscle. Just above the pyramid the fossa incudis gives attachment for the short

process of the incus. Below the pyramid is a depression, the sinus tympani,

which runs deep to the facial nerve and is continuous inferiorly with the

hypotympanum. The facial nerve bends downwards at the level of the floor of the

aditus and lies in close relation to the posterior wall. Posterolaterally to the

Fallopian canal in the aditus lies the rounded prominence of the bony wall of

the horizontal semicircular canal.

The lateral wall (Fig. 5) is formed mainly by the tympanic membrane and the

outer bony wall of the epitympanic recess (attic). The medial wall is also the

lateral wall of the internal ear. There are two openings in it, the upper of

which is the oval window (fenestra vestibuli) and below it is the niche leading

to the round window (fenestra cochleae), which is closed by the secondary

tympanic membrane. In front of and between these two windows lies the

promontory. The surface of this bony covering of the basal coil of the cochlea

is grooved for the nerve fibres of the tympanic plexus. The horizontal portion

of the facial nerve is enclosed in a bony canal (the canal of Fallopius), which

is sometimes deficient, and which crosses the medial wall above the oval window

before turning vertically downwards at the posterior end of the window. The

processus cochleariformis, containing the tendon of the tensor tympany, is

situated on the anterior and superior part of the medial wall in front of the

point of entry of the facial nerve from the inner ear.

The mucosal or epithelial lining of the tympanic cavity is of columnar ciliated

epithelium in that part derived from the tubotympanic recess, but in a

posterosuperior direction there is a transition to cuboidal epithelium and

finally to a flattened single-layer epithelium lining the mastoid antrum and air

cells.

The Ossicles

The three ossicles, clothed in mucosa and supported by ligaments, form an

articulated connection between the tympanic membrane and the oval window. The

malleus consists of a head, neck, anterior and lateral processes and handle. The

handle is attached to the drumhead and the head is situated in the attic

articulating with the body of the incus, the short process of which has a

ligamentous attachment to the floor of the aditus. The long process of the incus

extends downwards and its lentiform process articulates with the head of the

stapes. The stapes, suitably named from its stirrup-shaped appearance, has a

head, a neck, two crura or limbs, and a footplate which is fixed to the margins

of the oval window by an annular ligament.

The tensor tympani muscle arises from the cartilaginous part of the auditory

tube, from the adjacent part of the greater wing of the sphenoid and from the

bony canal in which it lies. Its tendon bends laterally around the processus

cochleariformis and is inserted into the medial surface of the malleus near the

neck. The nerve supply is from the motor division of the trigeminal nerve,

through the otic ganglion, and its action is to tense the tympanic membrane by

drawing it medially. The tendon of the stapedius muscle, after emerging from the

pyramid, is inserted into the neck of the stapes. It has an action of damping

the movement of the stapes by tilting outwards the anterior end of the

footplate, and it is supplied by the facial nerve.

Tympanic Ligaments and Spaces

The anterior and posterior ligaments of the malleus surround its neck and

jointly form the axis ligament attached to the anterior and posterior ends of

the tympanic notch. From the head of the malleus and the body of the incus a

superior ligament suspends each from the roof of the attic. The posterior

ligament of the incus attaches the short process of the incus to the fossa