Tympanic plate fracture following mandibular trauma.

Bleeding from the external auditory canal following head trauma is not unusual. It can be caused by a posterior dislocation of the mandibular condyle associated with a fracture of the tympanic bone. Although posterior dislocation is uncommon, it is the second most frequent complication after antero-medial displacement of the condyle. We report four cases of tympanic plate fracture and present CT images demonstrating the range of injuries seen.