Tube, auditory

Tube, auditory
The tube that runs from the middle ear to the pharynx, also known as the Eustachian tube. The function of this tube is to protect, aerate and drain the middle ear (and mastoid). Occlusion of the Eustachian tube leads to the development of middle ear inflammation (otitis media). This tube is also called the otopharyngeal tube (because it connects the ear to the pharynx) and in medical Latin it is the tuba acustica, tuba auditiva, or tuba auditoria. The pharynx is subdivided into 3 parts: the upper part called the nasopharynx, the middle part called the oropharynx, and the lower part called the hypopharynx. The Eustachian tube opens into the nasopharynx. The Eustachian tube measures only 17-18mm and is horizontal at birth. As it grows to double that length, it grows to be at an incline of 45 degrees in adulthood so that the nasopharyngeal orifice (opening) in the adult is significantly below the tympanic orifice (the opening in the middle ear near the ear drum). The shorter length and the horizontality of the Eustachian tube in infancy protects the middle ear poorly, makes for poor drainage of fluid from the middle ear, and predisposes infants and young children to middle ear infection. The greater length and particularly the slope of the tube as it grows serves more effectively to protect, aerate and drain the middle ear. The Eustachian tube in the adult is opened by two muscles (the tensor palati and the levator palati) but the anatomy of children permits only one of these muscles (the tensor palati) to work. This is a particular problem for children born with cleft palate who have poor function of that muscle; they suffer from Eustachian tube and middle ear problems until the second muscle (the levator palati) begins to function. The tube serves to adjust the pressure of the air within the middle ear to that of ambient air. It is harder to get air into the middle ear than get it out, which is why we have more trouble with our ears when a plane is descending than when it takes off. The tube bears the name of Bartolomeo Eustachi, a 16th-century (c. 1500-1510 to 1574) Italian physician. In 1562 and 1563 he produced a remarkable series of treatises on the kidney, the teeth, and the ear. These were published in Opuscula anatomica (1564). The treatise on the kidney was the first work specifically dedicated to that organ. He was the first to study the teeth in any detail. The treatise on the ear, the auditory organ (De auditus organis), provided a correct account of the auditory tube that is still referred to by his name. In 1552 Eustachi prepared a series of 47 anatomical plates, which (although they were published long after his death) alone assured him a distinguished position in the history of anatomy. He placed anatomy in the service of medicine. With Vesalius and Fallopio (of Fallopian tube fame), Eustachi is often seen as one of the three heroes of human anatomy. (Historical information based on the Catalog of the Scientific Community of the 16th and 17th Centuries by Richard S Westfall for the Galileo Project.)

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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  • Auditory — Au di*to*ry, a. [L. auditorius.] Of or pertaining to hearing, or to the sense or organs of hearing; as, the auditory nerve. See {Ear}. [1913 Webster] {Auditory canal} (Anat.), the tube from the auditory meatus or opening of the ear to the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Auditory canal — Auditory Au di*to*ry, a. [L. auditorius.] Of or pertaining to hearing, or to the sense or organs of hearing; as, the auditory nerve. See {Ear}. [1913 Webster] {Auditory canal} (Anat.), the tube from the auditory meatus or opening of the ear to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Tube — A long hollow cylinder. There are many tube like structures in the human body, such as the auditory tube (Eustachian tube) in the ear. * * * 1. A hollow cylindrical structure or canal. 2. A hollow cylinder or pipe. SYN: tuba [TA]. [L. tubus]… …   Medical dictionary

  • Auditory tube — The tube that runs from the middle ear to the pharynx, also known as the Eustachian tube. The function of this tube is to protect, aerate and drain the middle ear (and mastoid). Occlusion of the Eustachian tube leads to the development of middle… …   Medical dictionary

  • Tube, Eustachian — The tube that runs from the middle ear to the pharynx. The function of the Eustachian tube is to protect, aerate and drain the middle ear (and mastoid). Occlusion of the Eustachian tube leads to the development of middle ear inflammation (otitis… …   Medical dictionary

  • Tube, otopharyngeal — The tube that runs from the middle ear to the pharynx, known also as the Eustachian tube. The function of this tube is to protect, aerate and drain the middle ear (and mastoid). Occlusion of the Eustachian tube leads to the development of middle… …   Medical dictionary

  • Auditory system — The auditory system is the sensory system for the sense of hearing. Ear Outer ear The folds of cartilage surrounding the ear canal are called the pinna. Sound waves are reflected and attenuated when they hit the pinna, and these changes provide… …   Wikipedia

  • Auditory vesicle — Infobox Embryology Name = PAGENAME Latin = GraySubject = 228 GrayPage = 1030 Caption = Embryo between eighteen and twenty one days. Caption2 = Section through hind brain and auditory vesicles of an embryo more advanced than that of Fig. 898.… …   Wikipedia

  • auditory tube — noun either of the paired tubes connecting the middle ears to the nasopharynx; equalizes air pressure on the two sides of the eardrum • Syn: ↑Eustachian tube • Hypernyms: ↑salpinx • Part Holonyms: ↑middle ear, ↑tympanic cavity, ↑tympanum …   Useful english dictionary

  • auditory tube — noun Date: 1855 eustachian tube …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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