Morphological considerations about middle ear cholesteatoma.

The aim of this study is to present various morphologic aspects of the middle ear cholesteatoma, concerning both container (tympanic cavity) and content (cholesteatoma). There are two different aspects of the study: a mezoscopic study of the tympanic walls and the elements within the middle ear (ossicular chain, folds, ligaments, middle ear clefts) in order to evidentiate the critical areas (sinus tympani, facial sinus, anterior attic) and the pathways of spread for the cholesteatomas; a classical histological study of the middle ear cholesteatomas, in order to present the structural parts and the modifications in the neighboring structures.