The rat eustachian tube: Anatomical, histological, and radiological features

Zhe Wang; Hong-Tao Hu; Nader Bakheet; Sung Hwan Yoon; Jung-Hoon Park; Kun Yung Kim; Jae Yong Jeon; Woo Seok Kang; Ye Ree Kim; Jorge E Lopera; Hong Ju Park; Ho-Young Song

doi:10.1016/j.jimed.2022.12.002

The rat eustachian tube: Anatomical, histological, and radiological features

J Interv Med. 2022 Dec 8;6(1):14-19. doi: 10.1016/j.jimed.2022.12.002. eCollection 2023 Feb.

Authors

Zhe Wang^{1

2}, Hong-Tao Hu^{1

3}, Nader Bakheet^{1

4}, Sung Hwan Yoon¹, Jung-Hoon Park^{1

5}, Kun Yung Kim^{6

7}, Jae Yong Jeon⁸, Woo Seok Kang⁹, Ye Ree Kim⁹, Jorge E Lopera¹⁰, Hong Ju Park⁹, Ho-Young Song¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 388-1, Poongnap 2-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, 05505, Republic of Korea.
² Department of Radiology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Anshan Road 154, Heping District, CN, 300052, China.
³ Department of Minimal-Invasive Intervention, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University, 127 Dongming Road, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, 450003, China.
⁴ Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and Liver Unit, Kasr Al-Ainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
⁵ Biomedical Engineering Research Center, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 388-1, Poongnap 2-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, 05505, Republic of Korea.
⁶ Department of Radiology, Biomedical Research Institute of Chonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea.
⁷ Research Institute of Clinical Medicine of Chonbuk National University-Biomedical Research Institute of Chonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea.
⁸ Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 388-1, Poongnap 2-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, 05505, Republic of Korea.
⁹ Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 388-1, Poongnap 2-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, 05505, Republic of Korea.
¹⁰ Department of Radiology, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA.

Abstract

Purpose: This study investigated the anatomical and histological characteristics of the rat Eustachian tube (E-tube) and the feasibility of Eustachian tubography in a rat model.

Materials and methods: Fifteen male Wistar rats were used in this study, and the bilateral E-tubes of each rat were examined. Ten E-tubes were used for anatomical studies, another ten for histological analysis, and the other ten for Eustachian tubography. Five rats were euthanized and decapitated, and ten E-tubes were dissected to describe the anatomy of the E-tube. Ten E-tube specimens obtained from five other rats were sectioned to investigate E-tube histology. Eustachian tubography was performed on the bilateral E-tubes of the other five rats using the trans-tympanic approach.

Results: The rat E-tubes consisted of bony and membranous parts. Cartilage and bone tissue covered only the bony part. The E-tubes' mean diameter and overall length were 2.97 mm and 4.96 mm, respectively. The tympanic orifices' mean diameter was 1.21 mm. The epithelium of E-tubes was mainly composed of pseudostratified ciliated and goblet cells. Eustachian tubography was successfully performed on both sides of the E-tube for each rat. The technical success rate was 100%, the average running time was 4.9 min, and no procedure-related complications occurred. On tubography images, the E-tube, tympanic cavity, and nasopharynx could be identified because of the visualization of bony landmarks.

Conclusion: In this study, we described the anatomical and histological features of rat E-tubes. With the aid of these findings, E-tube angiography was successfully performed using a transtympanic approach. These results will facilitate further investigation of E-tube dysfunction.

Keywords: Anatomy; Eustachian tube; Histology; Radiography; Rats.