A Case of Conductive Hearing Loss by Heterotopic Neuroglial Tissue in the Middle Ear / 대한이비인후과학회지

ABSTRACT

Heterotopic brain tissue is defined as displaced neuroglial tissue that has no connection with the central nervous system. Mostly it involves the midline structures including nose, nasopharynx, oropharynx, palate, lips tongue, and tonsil. Rarely it involves non-midline structures such as middle ear, mastoid, and orbit. Commonly accepted theory is that heterotopic neural tissue is a variant of encephalocele in which the central nervous system connection has been lost or became vestigial. We experienced a case of heterotopic neuroglial tissue found in a patient who had conductive hearing loss in unilateral ear, and report it with a review of the related literature.