On the muscles which open the eustachian tube

Abstract

The author commences by alluding to the opinion generally held by anatomists, viz. that the guttural orifice of the Eustachian tube is always open, and that the air in the tympanum is constantly continuous with that in the cavity of the fauces. An examination of the guttural orifice of the tube in man and other animals has led the author to conclude, that, except during muscular action, this orifice is always closed, and that the tympanum forms a cavity distinct and isolated from the outer air. The muscles which open the Eustachian tube in man are the tensor and levator palati, and it is by their action during the process of deglutition that the tubes are ordinarily opened. That the act of swallowing is the means whereby the Eustachian tubes are opened, is shown by some experiments of which the following may be cited.