How to remove, process, and study the temporal bone with the entire eustachian tube and its accessory structures: a method for histopathological study.

A very important contribution to the study of otitis media, one of the diseases most often seen in pediatric patients, is the collection and study of temporal bone specimens which include the entire Eustachian tube. During the last few years, we have collected, processed, and studied more than 100 such specimens. Through these experiences, our technique has become so refined that we have some important suggestions to make to otologists who are interested in the histological study of otitis media as well as in the pathology of the Eustachian tube and its relation to middle ear abnormalities. This report describes the method we have found to be most successful for the study of Eustachian tube abnormalities and their relationship to middle ear effusion.