[Exploration, diagnosis and treatment of eustachian tube diseases by means of positive pressure through a tympanic membrane perforation, or by paracentesis and transtympanic drainage].

The A. discuss a manoeuvre seldom done in otology, consisting in the forced passage of air through the external canal and through perforations in the drum (also through paracentesis with an inserted ventilation tube) in those cases of otitis sharing tubal pathology. Medicines in solution or given by aerosol therapy led sometimes to surprising outcomes when dealing with chronic stubborn middle ear infections withstanding conventional treatments. Besides, the flow of air, as well as radio-opaque drugs, introduced this way, aid both the examination and the inventory of the actual state of the tube prior to functional operations on the ear. The paper recalls the danger of repeated topical administration of ear drops (as once was the usual mode of management) with alcohol or formol solutions, so endangering irreversibly the mucous membrane of the cavum tympani, with the subsequent difficulties. Finally, the A. report on the salpingitis accompanying the dyscrasias of the respiratory tract in relation to the reflex zone of the nasopharynx.