[Joseph Toynbee--otologist, scientist, philanthropist].

Joseph Tonbee's life's work may be summarized in the words of William Wilde: "The labours and investigations of Mr. Toynbee have affected more for aural pathology than those of all his predecessors either in England or on the continent". Some idea of the extent of his researches is given by the fact that he dissected some 2.

[Deafness and mentality in Francisco Goya's paintings].

The famous painter Francisco Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828) suffered during his life one or several diseases, the nature of which has not been determined with certainty. At age of 46, Goya suffered from severe illness that lasted a few months. It caused loss of vision and hearing, tinnitus, dizziness, a right-sides paralysis, weakness and general malaise.

[Cancer or syphilis laryngis, politics or diagnostic failure--problems of Emperor Frederick's III disease].

The case history of the German emperor Frederick III, who died of laryngeal cancer in 1888, is briefly reported. In spite of fact, that the German laryngologists the patient's pathologic changes diagnosed as laryngeal cancer in early stage, the ultimate diagnosis was made too late for surgery to have any effect. This delay was due to the differences in opinions between the attending laryngologists; particularly between that of the English prominent laryngologist Morell Mackenzie and the Germans, prof.

[Microtia: isolated defect of hearing organ, or syndrome forming collection of abnormalities].

Congenital malformations of the external ear are relatively rare, however gradual increase in their frequency has been observed in the last years. These defects can occur as isolated congenital malformations, but they can coexist with congenital malformations of facial skeleton and also with congenital defects of distant organs. The purpose of this study was to determine coexisting facial skeleton defects and congenital defects of distant organs in a group of patients with unilateral or bilateral congenital malformations of the external ear.

[The tempestuous history of middle ear operation].

The paper is a review of primary and secondary historical and scientific literature concerning the surgical treatment of the middle ear diseases. The development of mastoid surgery can be traced through the past 4 centuries. Once used as a means of evacuating a postauricular abscess, it has evolved to become a method for gaining entry into the middle ear to control acute and chronic ear diseases, or for treatment of otogenic complications.