Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Eustachian Tube: A Correlative Anatomical Study

Abstract

Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the eustachian tube (auditory tube) was performed in normal subjects and in a patient with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The MR images obtained in an anteriorly tilted transaxial plane parallel to the eustachian tubes were compared with serial slices of a cadaver specimen. The eustachian tube cartilage, mucous lining of the eustachian tube, the lateral pharyngeal recess, the tensor veli palatini muscle, and the levator veli palatini muscle were identified in MR images using anatomical relationships. A patient with nasopharyngeal carcinoma is described to demonstrate an example of topographical morbid changes appearing around the eustachian tube.