Author(s): Izabella Villanos,
Mentor(s):
Institution SUU
In mammals, the eustachian tube (or auditory canal) passes through the temporal bone and connects the middle ear cavity to the throat, allowing for the drainage of fluids and equalization of pressure. It also provides a pathway for bacteria in the throat to spread to the ear and cause infection. Frequency of infection is thought to be influenced by the length and diameter of the eustachian tube. Over time, humans evolved to have shorter snouts while their close relatives, the chimpanzees, kept their snouts protruded. This shortening of the snout is hypothesized to have shortened the length of the eustachian tube, making humans more susceptible to middle ear infections. This project aims to answer the question: Does the length and diameter of the human eustachian tube make humans more prone to middle ear infections than other mammals? I will use an open-source imaging computing platform (3D Slicer) and CT (computed tomography) imaging data downloaded from public databases to locate, segment, and measure the length and diameter of the bony portion of the eustachian tube in humans and chimpanzees. Preliminary results suggest a qualitative difference in anatomical structure between the human and chimpanzee bony eustachian tube, but empirical measurements will be taken to quantify those differences. Understanding fundamental differences between human and chimpanzee cranial structures grants insights into the evolutionary history of humans. This research may also aid doctors in understanding why some people are more susceptible to middle ear infections than others.