Peristaltic closure of a safety pin--an unusual fate of a safety pin seen as a foreign body in the gastrointestinal tract.

This report presents a case where an open safety pin passed through the Esophagus and where Nature herself finally solved the problem by closing the pin, which was afterwards carried in the faecal stream and discharged from the body without any harm to the patient.

[A pilot study of sulfur hexa fluoride (sf6) injection into middle ears. An alternative to prevent atelectatic ears (author's transl)].

A new method to prevent middle ear atelectasis is presented. Sulfur Hexa Fluoride (SF6), a synthetic inert gas with a very low water solubility, has been injected into the middle ears of two patients with a long-standing conductive hearing loss due to nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The hearing gain expressed as lowered air-bone gaps lasted 6--10 weeks.

Volume displacement of the tympanic membrane at stapedius reflex activity in different postures. Studies on variations in perilymphatic pressure.

With the microflow method the volume displacement of the tympanic membrane and its direction of movement can be recorded at stapedius reflex contraction. There is an outward or inward movement of the tympanic membrane, which is affected by changes in posture. The results indicate that the perilymphatic pressure in man varies with the posture and that these variations can be measured indirectly outside the tympanic membrane.

Volume displacement of the tympanic membrane in the sitting position as a function of middle ear muscle activity. A quantitative microflow method.

An open microflow meter system has been worked out for quantitative recording of the volume displacement of the tympanic membrane and its movement direction at stapedius reflex. An acoustically elicited M. stapedius contraction can be recognized by the characteristic response and latency time.

Immediate relief of symptoms during acute attacks of Meniere's disease, using a pressure chamber.

Five patients with Meniere's disease were exposed to underpressure in a pressure chamber while suffering from acute attacks with vertigo, nausea, tinnitus and fullness of the ear. Spontaneous nystagmus was the objective criterion for the selection of suitable cases. Subjective as well as objective symptoms subsided much faster than they do with other kinds of treatment.

Pressure-dependent variation in volume of mucosal lining of the middle ear.

A method is described for studying pressure-dependent variation in the volume of the mucosa of the middle ear. Studies were performed at different pressures in the middle ear as well as at different ambient pressures. It was found that the pressure-dependent volumetric changes of the mucosa were the same whether the pressure in the middle ear was changed directly by altering the intratympanic or indirectly by altering the ambient pressure.

Physiology of the Eustachian tube.

A method for studying the middle ear mechanics is described. The method permits continuous recording of the volume deviation of the drum in relation to the neutral position, both on change in the ambient pressure and in the pressure in the middle ear. One hundred and two volunteers with normal hearing, i.

Immediate restoration of basal sensorineural hearing (Mb Meniere) using a pressure chamber.

A new technique for the restoration of basal sensorineural hearing loss in Mb Meniere was described. Three cases with unilateral basal sensorineural hearing loss, fullness of the ear, and tinnitus were reported. In the acute stage of their disease the patients were treated in a pressure chamber where it was possible to increase or decrease the air pressure within the range +/- 110 cm H2O.

Gas tension and pH in middle ear effusion.

The composition of gases and the gas tension in middle ear effusion in patients with serous otitis media have been investigated. By using a specially designed micro-method, very small amounts of middle ear fluid could be analyzed. The effusion was obtained by puncturing the air cells of the mastoid process.