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Anatomical features of the palates and pharynges in Suncus murinus were examined through a dissecting microscope. The palatopharyngei (PP) on both sides join at the caudal, median line of the palatine velum and converge in an area immediately caudal to a mucosal notch, the pharyngeal torus before radiating into the dorsal wall of the esophagus. Some muscle bundles of the PP are attached to the veli palatini cartilage. The nasopharyngeal cartilage is situated rostral to curved mucosal plicae of the palatine velum. The pharyngeal torus interlocks with the rostrally lying corniculate tubercles. The structural relationships of the corniculate tubercles, pharyngeal torus and PP suggest that muscular tension of the PP sustains the epiglottis and retains it in the nasopharynx, i.e. the PP acts as a circumscribed sphincter around the epiglottis and establishes a short, secure air passageway to the larynx. The nasopharyngeal and veli palatini cartilages could keep the passageway in shape.Copyright © 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anatomical features of the middle ear and auditory tube (AT) in the house musk shrew, Suncus murinus, were examined by dissection and light microscopy. The tensor veli palatini (TVP) and tensor tympani (TT) have no connections with the wall or cartilage of the AT although they are connected by the intermediate tendon. None of the levator veli palatini (LVP) muscle bundles are attached to the AT. The salpingopharyngeus (SA) alone has its origin on the caudal edge of the tubal cartilage. The origin extends to the pharyngeal two thirds of the cartilage. The SA originates perpendicular to the AT and runs caudomedialward. Some SA muscle bundles intermingle with those of the palatopharyngeus to end on the dorsal wall of the pharynx. The observations provide no evidence that the TVP, LVP and TT have any role in AT function. The only muscle affecting the AT function in S. murinus is the SA, and it would be the AT dilator.Copyright © 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Multiple primary upper aerodigestive tract carcinomas can occur in up to 15% of patients. We have shown previously that half of the patients with multiple upper aerodigestive tract squamous cell carcinomas are initially seen with synchronous tumors. Most metachronous squamous cell carcinomas become manifest within 3 years. Objective: To examine the expression of 2 proteins—cyclin D1 and p53—in an attempt to predict the occurrence of multiple primary malignant neoplasms (MPs). Materials and Methods: Monoclonal antibodies to cyclin D1 (DCS-6 [dilution, 1:50], Novocastra Laboratories Ltd, Newcastle, England) and p53 (DO-7 [dilution, 1-100], Dako Corp, Carpinteria, Calif) proteins were used. Resection specimens from a total of 47 patients, 12 patients with MP and 35 patients with nonmultiple primary malignant neoplasms, were analyzed. Those in the nonmultiple primary malignant neoplasm group had longer than 3 years' follow-up to ascertain the absence of MP. Results: Tumor overexpression of cyclin D1 was significantly associated with the development of MP (P<.01). Tumor overexpression of p53 was also frequent in patients with MP although statistical significance was not achieved. The combination of these 2 parameters was an even greater predictor of MP (P<.001). Conclusions: Overexpression of cyclin D1 and p53 proteins was highly correlated with the development of MP. Additional studies are neccesary to confirm this finding. Immunohistochemical evaluation of primary squamous cell carcinomas for cyclin D1 and p53 overexpression may become an important fact of surgical pathologic reporting for primary upper aerodigestive tract squamous cell carcinomas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guinea pigs were exposed to a blast (maximum 1.0 kg/cm) of nitrous gas for 0.2 s through the external auditory canal. Then, they were either killed immediately, 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, or 4 weeks after exposure to the blast. The morphological changes of the cochlear sensory hairs were examined by means of a scanning electron microscope. Changes in the sensory hairs of the animals exposed to the blast for 1 s were examined in the same manner. The results of these experiments show that sensory hairs of the basal and the second turns were damaged more markedly than those of the third and subsequent turns. Outer sensory hairs were damaged more than inner ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outcome of unilateral sudden deafness with and without vertigo was evaluated according to the severity of the initial hearing loss, the shape of the audiogram, and other variables. The subjects for this investigation were 1313 patients who had presented to the authors' university hospital from 1972 to 1990 within 2 weeks of the onset of hearing loss. Thirty percent of the patients had accompanying vertigo. Vertigo occurred frequently in patients with severe hearing loss in the high-tone frequencies. Hearing recovery of high-tone frequencies was worse in patients with vertigo than in those without vertigo even when the initial hearing loss was the same. It is hypothesized that these results can be explained by anatomical factors; the cochlear basal turn being more proximal to the vestibular apparatus than the upper turn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the effects of a persistent perilymph fistula on the cochlea, a small cannula was inserted into the scala tympani of the basal turn of cochlea in guinea pigs. A month later, cochlear morphology and blood flow were studied using either histological evaluation or the microsphere surface preparation technique. Some animals showed no cochlear morphologic changes or no cochlear blood-flow reduction, even if tubal patency was maintained and perilymph leakage lasted for 1 month. This suggests that a prolonged perilymph fistula, per se, causes no permanent cochlear damage. However, in some animals, hair cell damage and cochlear blood-flow disorders were observed. These observations and the causes of hearing loss in clinical cases of perilymph fistula were studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cannula occlusion is a life-threatening postoperative complication of tracheostomy. Current management largely relies on nursing care for prevention of fatalities because no proven mechanical, machine-based support monitoring exists. The objective of this paper was to address the problem of monitoring the state of cannula patency, based on analysis of airflow acoustic spectral patterns in tracheostomized adult patients in the patent and partially occluded cannula. Tracheal airflow sounds were picked up via a condenser microphone air-coupled to the skin just below the tracheal stoma. Signal output from Mic was amplified, high-pass filtered, digital tape-recorded, and analyzed on a mainframe computer. Although airflow frequencies for patent cannulae were predominantly low-pitched (0.1 to 0.3 kHz), occluded tubes had discrete high-pitched spectral peaks (1.3 to 1.6 kHz). These results suggest that frequency analysis of airflow sounds can identify a change in the status of cannula patency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prostaglandin E1, a vasodilator and potent inhibitor of platelet aggregation, was administered by intravenous drip infusion to 51 patients who had sudden deafness. The results were compared with results from 362 patients who received no prostaglandin E1 therapy. There was no significant difference in outcome between patients who received prostaglandin E1 therapy and those who did not receive prostaglandin E1 therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temporal bone pathology is described in a 37-year-old man who had acute, bilateral, profound sensorineural hearing loss without improvement 4 months before death. The patient had suffered from low complement nephritis, for which he had received prednisolone therapy. Autopsy revealed malignant lymphoma with non-Hodgkin's type, membranous proliferative glomerulonephritis and necrotizing vasculitis of middle and small arteries. In the temporal bone study, pathological changes were limited to the cochlear region. The vestibular structure showed no detectable pathological changes. The changes included total absence of the organ of Corti, atrophy and/or disappearance of the stria vascularis in the upper turns, collapse of Reissner's membrane in the middle turn, and new bone formation in the apical turn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]