The infant eustachian tube lumen--pharyngeal part.

A study of Eustachian tube measurement in infants and children is presented. The study included 33 Eustachian tubes from normal temporal bones and 10 Eustachian tubes from temporal bones harboring acute otitis media. The temporal bones underwent histologic serial sectioning. The lumen of the first portion of the Eustachian tubes, i.e., the pharyngeal part, was measured with the aid of a grid mounted on a microscope. These measurements show: A) the Eustachian tube lumen grows and enlarges to a small degree with age; B) each age group presents a considerable variation in the range of the area of the lumen compatible with natural biological distribution; C) no statistical difference was found in the size of the pharyngeal portion of the lumen of the Eustachian tube from temporal bones which have acute otitis media when compared with lumens of the pharyngeal portion of Eustachian tubes coming from non-pathological ears.