ROLE WHICH THE EPIDERMIS PLAYS IN SUPPURATIONS OF THE MIDDLE EAR

Abstract

The epidermis of the tympanic membrane plays a significant rôle in the suppurations of the tympanum and of the mastoid cavity. While its behavior is of paramount importance in the repair of the inflammatory processes of the ear, it is at times a factor in the etiology of suppurations of the middle ear. This opinion is based on a perusal of the literature and a careful study of the histologic material at the laboratory of the Mount Sinai Hospital. The material comprises a series of about one hundred and twenty temporal bones of various ages from embryo to adult life, sectioned serially. As regards the rôle which the epidermis plays in the reparative processes, particular attention was paid to the group of cases in which suppuration of the middle ear was present. These cases total thirty-eight. Some were chronic, some were acute; in some the patients were operated