Die Würdigung des Fettpolsters der lateralen Tubenwand

Involvement of pterygoid venous plexus in patulous eustachian tube symptoms

“…Ostmann's fat pad is a major factor of the tubal patency [3], but significant change in its thickness could not be observed on MR images. We could not rule out the possibility of minimal change which could not be detected by MR imaging, but the fat pad may not change significantly by neck compression.…”

“…The example parasagittal image (C) clearly shows the anatomical structures as follows: 1, tubal cartilage; 2, levator veli palatini muscle (LVPM); 3, tensor veli palatini muscle (TVPM); 4, medial pterygoid muscle; 5, lateral pterygoid muscle; 6, Rosenmü ller's recess; 7, mucous lining of ET. Ostmann's fat pad is seen as a high intensity area between the LVPM (2) and TVPM(3). Continued) entire tubal cartilage (TC) was best seen.…”

“…Among the soft tissues surrounding the ET, Ostmann's fat pad is well known to affect the ET patency and its atrophy is considered to be a major causative factor of patulous ET [3]. The pterygoid venous plexus (PVP), which is located adjacent to the pterygoid muscles occupying a considerable part of the infratemporal fossa [4], should be affected by raised venous pressure in the head, and thus can also be involved in the closure and patency of the ET.…”