Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Endaural Endoscopic Atticoantrotomy (Retrograde Mastoidectomy) using a Constant Suction Bone-drilling Technique
Published on: May 23, 2021
Abstract:
The squamous epithelium and the granulating chronically inflamed mucosa of the middle ear are responsible for the development of a cholesteatoma. Squamous epithelium is stimulated to grow if it borders on granulation tissue, as in wound healing. Thus if granulation tissue forms in the tympanic membrane the basal membrane degenerates at circumscribed points and these matrix cells produce processes which grow in an atypical direction into the middle ear. The resulting mass of prickle cells acts as a foreign body and stimulates the growth of bone destroying soft tissue. This explains the posterior superior defect in the tympanic membrane.
Related Concept Videos
Bone Formation by Intramembranous Ossification
The process begins when mesenchymal cells in the embryonic skeleton gather together and differentiate into osteogenic cells, which then develop into...
The Auditory Ossicles
The aptly named stapes look very much like a stirrup. The three ossicles are unique to mammals, and each plays a role in...
Bone Formation by Endochondral Ossification
Anatomy of the Ear

