Eyes/Ears/Nose/Throat

~6% of blueprint

Red eye, otitis, sinusitis, pharyngitis, vertigo.

Disease Profiles

Region: Air-filled spaces around the nasal cavity.
Key Structures: Maxillary, ethmoid, frontal, sphenoid sinuses; most drain to the ostiomeatal complex in the middle meatus.
Clinical Correlation: The maxillary sinus is most often involved in sinusitis; ethmoid infection can spread to the orbit (orbital cellulitis).

High-Yield Pearl

Maxillary sinusitis is most common; pediatric ethmoid sinusitis can spread to the orbit.

Region: External, middle, and inner ear.
Key Structures: External (auricle, canal, tympanic membrane); middle (ossicles — malleus, incus, stapes; Eustachian tube); inner (cochlea = hearing, vestibular apparatus = balance).
Clinical Correlation: Otitis media collects behind the TM; conductive vs. sensorineural loss is distinguished by Weber/Rinne; inner-ear disease → vertigo.

High-Yield Pearl

Conductive loss → Weber lateralizes to the bad ear; sensorineural loss → Weber lateralizes to the good ear.

Region: The orbit — the globe and its three layers.
Key Structures: Outer (cornea, sclera), uvea (iris, ciliary body, choroid), inner (retina with macula/fovea); anterior & posterior chambers.
Clinical Correlation: Acute angle-closure glaucoma blocks aqueous outflow (fixed mid-dilated pupil, halos); retinal detachment → painless “curtain” over vision.

High-Yield Pearl

Painful red eye + fixed mid-dilated pupil + halos = acute angle-closure glaucoma — an emergency.