The literature on otitis media and complications for 1957 contained numerous interesting articles on the operations for chronic otitis media and the reconstruction procedures for improvement of hearing damaged by infection.
Anatomy
Two apparently conflicting theories on the pneumatization of the temporal bone are given in the first two articles.Tumarkin1 (Liverpool) found that the children living in the slums of Liverpool have smaller mastoid development than the same age children coming from better homes. When he examined their drums he found pathology in 20% as compared to 5% in the middle class children. Audiograms were abnormal in about the same proportion. He concluded that hypocellularity is the result of respiratory disease ("rampant in the lower classes") which can inhibit normal cellular development by setting up a lowgrade exudative tympanomastoiditis that is frequently symptomless.He suggests that most cases of later developing cholesteatoma and possibly otosclerosis are due to