Otology; acute middle-ear disease.

THIS progress report emphasizes the growing interest in acute secretory otitis media, with special reference to the preservation of hearing, and clarifies its differentiation from acute suppurative otitis media. In 1869 Politzer1 gave his first clear description of acute secretory or, as it is sometimes called, acute catarrhal otitis media. The condition has been well known ever since then, and textbooks have clearly defined and differentiated this disease from acute suppurative otitis media. However, only a few studies were made in this country until 1940. This date coincided with a growing awareness that acute secretory otitis media was on the . . .