NO. 6 EAR EXOSTOSES — HRDLICKA 6/ 



Politzer believed traumatism might be a cause of ear exostosis, 

 through consequent locabzed periostitis. Jacquemart (1889, p. 193) 

 claims that even in cases of arthritic or syphilitic diathesis which pre- 

 disposed to the bony growths in the ears, " it is ordinarily by trauma- 

 tism that the process commences." More or less similar views are 

 advanced by Heiman (1891), " L. B. of Hamburg", and other 

 authors. 



Wagenhauser (q. by Schlomka, 1891, p. 14) reports a case in which, 

 following a fracture of the anterior wall of the meatus resulting from 

 the kick of a horse, 3 months after the healing of the wound there 

 showed on the site of the injury in the canal two small rounded 

 exostoses. 



Contrary to these opinions and reports Kessel (1889) declares 

 that " should one think of mechanical irritation, he will be disap- 

 pointed. We see foreign bodies remain in the auditory canal for whole 

 decennia, without causing exostosis." 



Sabroux ( 1901 , pp. 24, 28) tends to restore the belief in such causes ; 

 he says : 



A purely mechanical cause may also determine deformations of the auditory 

 canal and thereby bring about the production of exostoses. Such an agency might 

 De the compression of the external ear by the umbilical cord when this is 



coiled about the head An injury of the meatus, however slight, may 



become the starting point of an exostosis, particularly in those predisposed to 

 such growths through syphilitic, rheumatic, or gouty diathesis ; and the same 

 applies to severe traumatisms. 



Korner (1904, p. 104) says that " also, fractures of the temporal 

 bone, which pass through the auditory canal, may lead to the de- 

 velopment of hyperostoses or exostoses in the canal. I have seen 

 two such cases. In both the new bone formation assumed the form of 

 a dull cone and was located on the floor of the canal quite far out 

 toward the mouth of the meatus." 



Ballenger (1914, p. 661) holds equally that "traumatic fracture 

 of the walls of the meatus, whereby a circumscribed periostitis is 

 excited, may finally result in the formation of a bony mass or tumor." 



Moller-Holst (1932, p. 102) objects to the presumed influence of 

 ear pendants. 



There are still other references to the subject of traumatisms in 

 otological literature, but they add nothing further. 



From the above it appears certain that traumatisms of the meatus 

 may in some cases act as the exciting causes for the development of 

 bony growths in the canal. On the other hand no substantial support 



