The eustachian tube midportion in infants.

The eustachian tube midportion in infants and children was measured in 44 eustachian tubes from normal temporal bones and 11 eustachian tubes from temporal bones harboring acute otitis media. The temporal bones were serially sectioned, and the lumina of the eustachian tubes' midportions were measured with the aid of a grid mounted on a microscope. These measurements showed that the eustachian tube lumen grows to a small degree with age. Each age group showed a considerable variation in the range of the luminal area compatible with natural biologic distribution. No statistically significant difference was found in the sizes of the midportions of the eustachian tube lumina from temporal bones that harbored acute otitis media when compared with the lumina of the eustachian tube midportions from normal ears.