Reference Terms
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eustachian tube
The Eustachian tube (or auditory tube) is a tube that links the pharynx to the middle ear. In adults the Eustachian tube is approximately 35 mm long. Some medical books call this the pharyngotympanic tube. Normally the Eustachian tube is closed, but it can open to let a small amount of air through to equalize the pressure between the middle ear and the atmosphere. When this happens we hear a small pop, an event familiar to airplane travelers or drivers in mountainous regions. Yawning or swallowing can pull on muscles in the neck, causing the tube to open. Some people are born with the ability to contract just these muscles voluntarily, similar to people who can wiggle their ears. Without this airway, the middle ear would be isolated from the atmosphere, and could be easily damaged by pressure changes.
Related Stories
1
2
Health & Medicine News
November 15, 2025
Nov. 15, 2025 Researchers found that tau proteins don’t jump straight into forming Alzheimer’s-associated fibrils—first they assemble into soft, reversible clusters. When the clusters were dissolved, fibril growth was almost entirely suppressed. This ...
Nov. 15, 2025 Scientists identified a small molecule that interrupts a harmful protein pair linked to diabetic inflammation and tissue damage. The compound helped wounds heal faster and reduced organ stress in both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes models. Unlike ...
Nov. 14, 2025 By reactivating a long-lost gene, researchers were able to lower uric acid levels and stop damaging fat accumulation in human liver models. The breakthrough hints at a future where gout and several metabolic diseases could be prevented at the ...
Nov. 14, 2025 Researchers uncovered how fatty molecules called ceramides trigger acute kidney injury by damaging the mitochondria that power kidney cells. By altering ceramide metabolism or using a new drug candidate, the team was able to protect mitochondrial ...
Nov. 14, 2025 Researchers have created a prediction method that comes startlingly close to real-world results. It works by aiming for strong alignment with actual values rather than simply reducing mistakes. Tests on medical and health data showed it often ...
Nov. 14, 2025 Scientists studying aging found that sensory inputs like touch and smell can cancel out the lifespan-boosting effects of dietary restriction by suppressing the key longevity gene fmo-2. When overactivated, the gene makes worms oddly indifferent to ...
Nov. 13, 2025 Exercise appears to spark a whole-body anti-aging cascade, and scientists have now mapped out how it happens—and how a simple oral compound can mimic it. By following volunteers through rest, intense workouts, and endurance training, researchers ...
Nov. 13, 2025 Ultra-endurance athletes can push their bodies to extraordinary extremes, but even they run into a hard biological wall. Researchers tracked ultra-runners, cyclists, and triathletes over weeks and months, discovering that no matter how intense the ...
Nov. 13, 2025 Researchers have uncovered surprising evidence that anxiety may be controlled not by neurons but by two dueling groups of immune cells inside the brain. These microglia act like biological pedals—one pushing anxiety forward and the other holding ...
Nov. 13, 2025 Smoking, vaping, or using both products significantly increases the likelihood of developing prediabetes and diabetes, and the risk is even higher among Hispanic, Black, and low-income groups. Researchers found that vaping alone raises prediabetes ...
Nov. 13, 2025 Researchers have designed a smart drug that hunts down and breaks a little-known RNA that cancer cells depend on. The drug recognizes a unique fold in the RNA and triggers the cell to destroy it. Tests showed that removing this RNA slows cancer ...
Nov. 13, 2025 Scientists have discovered strange microscopic structures in the blood of people with Long COVID—clusters of tiny microclots tangled together with sticky immune webs known as neutrophil extracellular traps, or NETs. These combined structures show ...
Latest Headlines
updated 12:56 pm ET
Nov. 12, 2025 Colchicine, a cheap and widely used gout drug, may help prevent heart attacks and strokes in people with cardiovascular disease. Trials involving nearly 23,000 patients show meaningful reductions in ...
Nov. 12, 2025 Scientists have uncovered a new environmental culprit behind liver disease: tetrachloroethylene (PCE), a chemical used in dry cleaning and household products. The study found that people with PCE ...
Nov. 12, 2025 New research from the Technical University of Munich and Harvard Medical School reveals that popular GLP-1-based drugs, semaglutide (Ozempic) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro), not only promote weight loss ...
Nov. 12, 2025 Scientists in Seoul have uncovered 15 gut bacterial species linked to coronary artery disease, showing that microbes can influence heart health far beyond digestion. Their findings reveal how shifts ...
Nov. 12, 2025 GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy may extend the lives of colon cancer patients, according to a major UC San Diego study. Patients on the medications had less than half the mortality rate of ...
Nov. 11, 2025 Texas A&M scientists have unlocked new potential for astatine-211, a rare and short-lived element, as a highly precise cancer-fighting isotope. Its alpha emissions destroy tumor cells while sparing ...
Nov. 11, 2025 TAR-200, a small drug-releasing implant, wiped out tumors in most patients with high-risk bladder cancer. Its slow, consistent release of chemotherapy proved far more effective than traditional ...
Nov. 11, 2025 Historians have traced myths about the Black Death’s rapid journey across Asia to one 14th-century poem by Ibn al-Wardi. His imaginative maqāma, never meant as fact, became the foundation for ...
Nov. 11, 2025 Researchers in Osaka have found that stem cells from fat tissue can repair spinal fractures similar to those caused by osteoporosis. By turning these cells into bone-forming clusters and pairing them ...
Nov. 11, 2025 Researchers found that runners who sleep poorly face nearly double the injury risk compared to those who rest well. The study highlights that sleep is not just recovery—it’s a key factor in ...