External and middle ear. Eustachian tube labelled as auditory tube.
Middle ear, with auditory tube at bottom right
Details
Pronunciation
/juːˈsteɪʃən/
Precursor
First pharyngeal pouch
Identifiers
Latin
tuba auditiva, tuba auditivea, tuba auditoria
MeSH
D005064
TA98
A15.3.02.073
TA2
6926
FMA
9705
Anatomical terminology
[edit on Wikidata]
The Eustachian tube (/juːˈsteɪʃən/), also called the auditory tube or pharyngotympanic tube,[1] is a tube that links the nasopharynx to the middle ear, of which it is also a part. In adult humans, the Eustachian tube is approximately 35 mm (1.4 in) long and 3 mm (0.12 in) in diameter.[2] It is named after the sixteenth-century Italian anatomist Bartolomeo Eustachi.[3]
In humans and other tetrapods, both the middle ear and the ear canal are normally filled with air. Unlike the air of the ear canal, however, the air of the middle ear is not in direct contact with the atmosphere outside the body; thus, a pressure difference can develop between the atmospheric pressure of the ear canal and the middle ear. Normally, the Eustachian tube is collapsed, but it gapes open with swallowing and with positive pressure, allowing the middle ear's pressure to adjust to the atmospheric pressure. When taking off in an aircraft, the ambient air pressure goes from higher (on the ground) to lower (in the sky). The air in the middle ear expands as the plane gains altitude, and pushes its way into the back of the nose and mouth; on the way down, the volume of air in the middle ear shrinks, and a slight vacuum is produced. Active opening of the Eustachian tube (through actions like swallowing or the Valsalva maneuver) is required to equalize the pressure between the middle ear and the ambient atmosphere as the plane descends. A diver also experiences this change in pressure, but with greater rates of pressure change; active opening of the Eustachian tube is required more frequently to equalize pressure as the diver goes deeper, into higher pressure.
^Keith L. Moore; Arthur F. Dalley; A. M. R. Agur (13 February 2013). Clinically Oriented Anatomy. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 970. ISBN 978-1-4511-1945-9.
^"Eustachian Tube Dysfunction or Blockage Symptoms & How to Clear". medicinenet.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
The Eustachiantube (/juːˈsteɪʃən/), also called the auditory tube or pharyngotympanic tube, is a tube that links the nasopharynx to the middle ear, of...
Eustachiantube dysfunction (ETD) is a disorder where pressure abnormalities in the middle ear result in symptoms. Symptoms include aural fullness, ears...
Patulous Eustachiantube is the name of a physical disorder where the Eustachiantube, which is normally closed, instead stays intermittently open. When...
mucosa, inadequate opening of the Eustachiantube or a combination of these factors. People with a patulous Eustachiantube may also cause negative middle...
eustachiantube that is unable to perform drainage or ventilation in its usual fashion. Before the invention of antibiotics, myringotomy without tube...
Eustachian, meaning "discovered by, described by or attributed to Eustachi" (Latin name Eustachius) may refer to: Eustachiantube, an anatomical passage...
cartilaginous portion of the Eustachiantube (auditory tube). The torus tubarius is situated behind the pharyngeal orifice of the auditory tube. The torus tubarius...
principal scientific interest was the human ear. He described the Eustachiantube and the maneuver to test its patency (openness). The normal physiological...
reach the protympanum or the bony Eustachiantube and possibly carry out interventions to maintain an open eustachiantube by inserting a dilatation balloon...
techniques addressing underlying Eustachiantube dysfunction such as transtympanic dilatation of the Eustachiantube has not been shown to change outcomes...
vibration back towards the eardrum. Serous otitis media Open or patulous Eustachiantube, allowing vocal or breathing sounds to be conducted into the middle...
by the nasopharynx at the top of the throat, and to the ear by its Eustachiantube. The throat's trachea carries inhaled air to the bronchi of the lungs...
eustachiantube that is unable to perform drainage or ventilation in its usual fashion. Before the invention of antibiotics, myringotomy without tube...
part of the temporal bone. The auditory tube (also known as the Eustachiantube or the pharyngotympanic tube) joins the tympanic cavity with the nasal...
the pharynx. It arises from the lower part of the cartilage of the Eustachiantube, and inserts into the palatopharyngeus muscle by blending with its...
Extension tube, a tool for macro photography Test tube, a piece of laboratory equipment Eustachiantube, part of the structure of the ear Lava tube, found...
tympanostomy tubes are commonly used in children, they are seldom used in adults. Options for use in adults include: Persistent eustachiantube dysfunction...
of the external auditory meatus, medial part of the auditory canal Eustachiantube, corniculate and cuneiform laryneal cartilages, and the epiglottis...
commonly, on ascent. Failure to equalise may be due to inexperience or eustachiantube dysfunction, which can have many possible causes. Unequalised ambient...
The common cause of all forms of otitis media is dysfunction of the Eustachiantube. This is usually due to inflammation of the mucous membranes in the...
to describe the following two "tubes": Fallopian tube (as in mesosalpinx, salpingitis and hydrosalpinx) Eustachiantube (as in salpingopalatine fold, salpingopharyngeal...
flying with a severe cold, due to changes in air pressure and blocked Eustachiantubes resulting from the cold. This is especially true on landing.[medical...
infections or conditions that block the eustachiantube, such as allergies or tumors. Blocking of the eustachiantube leads to decreased pressure in the middle...
middle ear with the outside pressure, by letting air enter along the Eustachiantubes, as this does not always happen automatically when the pressure in...
Behind the ostium of the eustachiantube (ostium pharyngeum tuba auditiva) is a deep recess, the pharyngeal recess (fossa of Rosenmüller). At the base...
triangular muscle of the head that tenses the soft palate and opens the Eustachiantube to equalise pressure in the middle ear. The tensor veli palatini muscle...
ring. Each tubal tonsil is located posterior to the opening of the Eustachiantube on the lateral wall of the nasopharynx. It is one of the four main...
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