Adam Politzer-Father of Modern Otology

Adam Politzer (1835-1920) was born in Alberti near the city of Budapest in Hungary. He studied medicine at the University of Vienna and obtained his Doctorate degree in 1859. Some of his teachers belonged to the famous second "Vienna School" such as Joseph Skoda, Karl Rokitansky, Von Hebra, Josef Hyrtil, Johann Von Oppolzer and famous physiologist Carl Ludwig -who took special interest in him and was influential in his subsequent career. Politzer showed unusual interest in diseases of the ear and started to work in Carl Ludwig's laboratory. His interest at that time was mainly the physics of the auditory system. He studied the innervations of the intrinsic muscles of the ear There he was the first to demonstrate that the innervations of the tensor tympani muscle was by trigeminal nerve and that of the stapedial muscle was by facial nerve. He studied the air movement in the Eustachian tube and variation of air pressure in the tympanic cavity by connecting two manometers- one placed in the external auditory canal meatus, and another in the pharynx. He showed valve near the opening into the middle ear which controls the process. It is usually closed to keep the bacteria and other things away from the mouth and nose.