Sando I, Takahashi H, Aoki H, Matsune S
Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, PA 15213.
Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 1993 Jan;102(1 Pt 1):47-51. doi: 10.1177/000348949310200109.
Differences in the extent of mucosal folding in the superior versus the inferior half of the human eustachian tube (ET) lumen were studied by measuring, as it appeared in histologic cross section, the length of the mucosal margin in the pharyngeal portion, the midcartilaginous portion, the isthmus portion, and the osseous portion of each half of the ET in 16 normal ET temporal bone specimens from 16 individuals 12 to 70 years of age. The mucosal margin of the ET was significantly longer in the inferior half than in the superior half in all four portions (paired t test: pharyngeal portion t[15] = 3.59, p < .01; midcartilaginous portion t[15] = 3.52, p < .01; isthmus portion t[15] = 4.15, p < .01; osseous portion t[15] = 2.24, p < .05). These results indicate that the inferior half of the ET mucosa has more folds than the superior half, and that the surface area of the inferior half of the ET is larger than that of the superior half. This, together with the finding previously reported that secretory components of the ET such as glands and goblet cells are more richly distributed in the inferior (floor) portion than in the superior (roof) portion of the ET, may be related to the fact that the floor of the ET has an active role in clearance function. A hypothesis regarding localization of the ventilatory and clearance functions within the ET is proposed.
通过测量16个年龄在12至70岁的个体的16个正常咽鼓管颞骨标本中，咽鼓管（ET）每一半的咽段、软骨中段、峡部和骨部在组织学横截面中呈现的黏膜边缘长度，研究了人类咽鼓管（ET）管腔上半部分与下半部分黏膜折叠程度的差异。在所有四个部分中，ET的下半部分黏膜边缘均显著长于上半部分（配对t检验：咽段t[15]=3.59，p<.01；软骨中段t[15]=3.52，p<.01；峡部t[15]=4.15，p<.01；骨部t[15]=2.24，p<.05）。这些结果表明，ET下半部分的黏膜褶皱比上半部分更多，且ET下半部分的表面积大于上半部分。这与先前报道的ET分泌成分如腺体和杯状细胞在下半部分（底部）比在上半部分（顶部）分布更丰富的发现一起，可能与ET底部在清除功能中起积极作用这一事实有关。本文提出了一个关于ET内通气和清除功能定位的假说。
