Surface Area-volume Relationships for the Mastoid Air Cell System and Tympanum in Adult Humans: Implications for Mastoid Function

Overview

Journal Acta Otolaryngol

Specialty Otorhinolaryngology

Date 2010 May 11

PMID 20450279

Citations 9

Authors

J Douglas Swarts

Brendan M Cullen Doyle

Cuneyt M Alper

William J Doyle

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Conclusions: The middle ear (ME) surface area/volume ratio (SA/V) is greater than that of the tympanum. The rate of ME pressure decrease is proportional to the ME SA/V. The mastoid air-cell system (MACS) will not function as an ME gas reserve unless the blood perfusion/surface area is much greater for the tympanum than the MACS and decreases as MACS volume increases.

Objective: To measure the MACS and tympanum surface areas and volumes and ascertain whether the MACS could function as an ME gas reserve.

Methods: Twenty adult subjects with a wide range of MACS volumes underwent CT of their MEs. The left and right surface areas and volumes of the tympanum and MACS were reconstructed and entered into a simple perfusion-limited model of transmucosal gas exchange. In this model the MACS would be a gas reserve if ME SA/V was less than the tympanum SA/V or equivalently, if their ratio was less than a critical value of 1.

Results: Both MACS and tympanum SA were linearly related to their volumes. MACS SA/V and the ME SA/V were significantly greater than those for the tympanum. Inputting the measured values into the model yielded a critical value of 1.4, which was significantly greater than 1.

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