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Patterns of pneumatization of the tympanic plate

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Abstract

Objective

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of tympanic plate (TP) pneumatisation as well as the various potential patterns.

Methods

A retrospective study involving the archived Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) files of 70 patients was performed to investigate anatomical variations of TP pneumatisation.

Results

Forty-eight TPs were found to be non-pneumatised, while 92 were found to contain at least peritubal air cells. Twenty patients (28.5%) did not present any variety of TP pneumatisation, while 36 patients (51.4%) exhibited a symmetrical pattern of pneumatisation.

Conclusion

Aside from those patients who lacked TP pneumatisation, the peritubal pneumatisation pattern was found to be the most common. Further, bilateral symmetry was found to occur in more than half of all cases. CBCT is a powerful diagnostic tool, although appropriate knowledge of the anatomical possibilities remains mandatory for adequate surgical planning.

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Acknowledgements

All authors have equally contributed to this study.

Funding

This study received no funding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Anatomy, Faculty of Dental Medicine, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8 Eroilor Sanitari Blvd., 050474, Bucharest, Romania

    Mugurel Constantin Rusu & Cătălina Bichir

  2. Division of Oral Implantology, Faculty of Dental Medicine, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania

    Mihai Săndulescu

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  1. Mugurel Constantin Rusu
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  3. Cătălina Bichir
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Correspondence to Mugurel Constantin Rusu.

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Rusu, M.C., Săndulescu, M. & Bichir, C. Patterns of pneumatization of the tympanic plate. Surg Radiol Anat 42, 347–353 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-019-02415-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-019-02415-4

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