The paired temporal bones form the lateral skull walls and contain the middle and inner ear structures, the mastoid air cells, the styloid process, and the external acoustic meatus.
The petrous part of the temporal bone is the densest bone in the body and houses the inner ear structures. Longitudinal temporal bone fractures following lateral trauma traverse the mastoid and external auditory canal, producing conductive hearing loss and haemotympanum. Transverse fractures through the petrous pyramid cause sensorineural hearing loss and facial nerve palsy. The mastoid air cells communicate with the middle ear and can harbour cholesteatoma or mastoiditis from chronic middle ear infection.
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