Mastoiditis

mastoiditis

Inflammation of the mastoid process, a bony projection just behind the ear, almost always due to otitis media. It may spread into small cavities in the bone, blocking their drainage. Very severe cases infect the whole middle ear cleft. It causes pain behind the ear and on the side of the head. Temperature and pulse rate may rise. Tissues over the bone may swell until an abscess develops, indicating destruction of the bone's outer layer. Complications of inward spread include abscess inside the skull, thrombosis, and inner-ear infection; meningitis is a serious danger. Now rare with treatment of otitis media, mastoiditis usually responds to early antibiotic treatment; if not, surgical drainage with removal of all diseased bone is necessary.

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mastoiditis

inflammation of the mastoid process

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mastoiditis [‚ma‚stȯi′dīd·əs]

(medicine)

Inflammation of the mastoid cells.

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Mastoiditis 

inflammation of the mastoid cells of the temporal bone, affecting the mucous membrane and bony tissue. Most ofter mastoiditis is a complication of a purulent inflammation of the middle ear. Primary mastoiditis arises as a result of trauma to the mastoid process or when infection from sepsis, syphilis, or tuberculosis penetrates by hematogenic means. Symptoms include sharp pain when pressure is applied to the anterosuperior part of the process or to its apex, reddening of the skin, swelling, flabbiness, and protrusion of the auricles forward and downward. In children the temperature rises to 39°-40°C; in adults it often remains normal. Treatment consists of administering antibiotics. If there is prolonged suppuration from the ear (three or four weeks) or at the first signs that infection has spread to the labyrinth and the meninges, treatment is surgical.