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Anatomic and Physiologic Changes in the Ears, Nose, and Throat

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Principles and Practice of Geriatric Surgery

Abstract

Physiological and anatomical changes with age in the ears, nose, and throat have long been the subject of clinical interest; increasingly, they are the subject of basic and clinical investigations [1–6]. Nonetheless, the role of alterations in cells and tissues and distinctions among genetic, pathological, environmental, and interactive effects on cellular, tissue, and organ functions are still emerging [3, 7–12]. Currently, presbycusis, presbystasis, presbyosmia, presbylarynx, and presbyphonia are the terms used to denote the functionally and clinically apparent manifestations of aging changes in the ears, nose, and throat [1, 2, 13–15]. Presbyvertigo has also been proposed as a relevant term for matters of dizziness and falls in older adults though presbystasis is more commonly used [15, 16]. Notably, presbypharynx is, while being a parallel term to represent the manifestations of aging changes in the anatomy and physiology of the pharynx, not used in current literature. Instead, various uses of senescent swallowing and dysphagia predominate in the literature [17, 18].

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Correspondence to Ara A. Chalian .

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Chalian, A.A., Rajasekaran, K., Kagan, S.H. (2019). Anatomic and Physiologic Changes in the Ears, Nose, and Throat. In: Rosenthal, R., Zenilman, M., Katlic, M. (eds) Principles and Practice of Geriatric Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20317-1_35-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20317-1_35-1

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