Anterior attic wall anatomy.
The anterior attic wall was examined by dissecting decalcified human temporal bones in search of an aeration and/or drainage route from the antrum to the mesotympanum. A thin bony plate extending down from the tegmen tympani was found to be located in front of the malleus head. The height of this bony plate was 1.5 to 3.0 mm and extended from the facial canal wall to the scutum. As the bony plate and its covering mucosal folds completely separated the attic and the mesotympanum, an anterior drainage route from the attic to the supratubal space of the mesotympanum could be made by removing this bony plate. Removal can be accomplished without sectioning the chorda tympani and the anterior malleal ligament.
D000328:Adult; D004432:Ear, Middle / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D013701:Temporal Bone / Q000033:anatomy & histology*