Latent acute mastoiditis as a homologous disease of middle ear cholesteatoma

As the CT findings of the temporal bone of latent acute mastoiditis are really same to that of middle ear cholesteatoma, it is considered that both diseases may be homologous, in which the supratubal recess route in the tympanic diaphragm is narrow or closed. Latent mastoiditis develops by the excretory dysfunction, and cholesteatoma develops by the ventilatory dysfunction via the tympanic diaphragm respectively. From this standpoint, the mysterious clinical sings and postoperative course of latent mastoiditis are easily understandable. In the treatments, CT examination with axial slicing and anterior tympanotomy in addition to mastoidectomy are recommended.