[Meningioma of the sphenoid bone with involvement of the tympanic cavity].

Meningiomas are the most common benign neoplasms of the central nervous system, while meningiomas involving temporal bone are quite rare. If these tumours originate from the sphenoid they usually infiltrate the middle cranial fossa, the orbit, the cavernous sinus and the internal carotid artery. Only a small number of sphenoidal meningiomas infiltrating the middle ear have been reported so far. In these cases, differentiation from other middle ear diseases, particularly glomus tumour and chronical otitis media, is difficult. In this study the case of a sphenoidal meningioma involving the temporal bone and the middle ear is presented. The importance of computerized tomography and particularly MR tomography in evaluating intracranial and intratympanic meningiomas is discussed.