PROBLEM OF SO-CALLED CONGENITAL ATRESIA OF THE EAR: Histologic Report of a New Case

Abstract

THE TERM "congenital atresia" is used to designate a group of relatively frequent unilateral or bilateral malformations of the external and middle ear and, in some instances, also of the inner ear. These malformations are more or less independent of one another in their manner of development but may be combined and coordinated in different ways. Atresia of the external meatus, the malformation from which the whole complex derives its name, is present in the majority of cases but not always so. In some instances the meatus is only partially missing or hypoplastic, and in very rare instances entirely normal. It seems startling at first that such cases should also be contained in this group, but it becomes understandable if one realizes that originally the atresia was believed to represent a well defined malformation. Later, however, it became clear that the atresia is only one of a whole group of