| Description |
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Since the temporal bones form the main struts of the skull base, significant trauma to the skull may produce a fracturere of the temporal bone. Eighty percent of temporal bone fractures are longitudinal. The fracture line typically passes through the tympanic ring posteriorly or superiorly, and into the external canal. In a fresh fracture, the patient experiences bleeding from the ear with a conductive hearing loss.Physical examination reveals a tear in the tympanic membrane adjacent to the bony diastasis of the fractured tympanic ring. A white bar of displaced bone is visible in the posterior canal wall, long after the temporal bone fracture has healed. |
