Otosclerosis

The following is an English translation of an article written by Adam Politzer in 1913. Otologists of that day, concerned with the more urgent and widespread problems of ear infections and their often-fatal consequences, devoted little time to the study of otosclerosis; many dismissed it as yet another post infectious complication of the mucosa or periosteum of the middle ear. Politzer, using the preeminent research tool of the New Vienna School, the autopsy, was the first to establish our current view that otosclerosis is a primary disease of the labyrinthine capsule. The section on clinical diagnosis is valid and useful today. Except for the use of iodine, believed to slow the spread of the illness, Politzer considered all medical and surgical treatment employed at that time, including the primitive stapedectomy, to be futile.