Middle Ear Anatomical Variations in an Autopsy Series of 204 Ears

An autopsy series of 102 cadavers (204 ears) from a Forensic Medicine Institute morgue, with a mean age of 49.08 ± 17.76 years. The dataset, authored by Bayram Şahin, documents endoscopic evaluations of middle ear anatomical variations and pathologies. It reports frequencies for structures like the ponticulus, subiculum, facial dehiscence, and round window niche pseudomembrane.

Use Cases

• Analyze the prevalence of external auditory canal wall prominence based on the reported 26.4% occurrence.
• Study the morphology of the ponticulus based on its reported bony ridge (76.4%), bridge-shaped (12.3%), and absent (11.3%) forms.
• Investigate the frequency of round window niche pseudomembrane coverage based on the reported 41.6% rate.
• Examine the incidence of fixed stapes footplate based on the reported 7.4% occurrence.

Strengths

• Contains data from 102 cadavers (204 ears), providing a substantial sample for anatomical study.
• Reports specific, quantified prevalence rates for multiple anatomical variations (e.g., 26.4%, 41.6%, 7.4%).
• Focuses on a specific, hard-to-study anatomical region (posterior tympanic cavity) via direct endoscopic evaluation.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to the single-institution autopsy series.

Provenance

Source

Forensic Medicine Institute Morgue Department.

Collection Method

Endoscopic evaluation of cadavers over 18 with no temporal bone trauma or otologic surgery history.