Abstract
Two rare cases of melanosis in the middle ear mucosa were studied via histochemistry and ultramicroscopy. Case 1: Male, 36 years old. When the patient came in for a tympanoplasty for chronic otitis media, pigmentation in the middle ear mucosa was noticed. The pigmentation was identified as melanin granules by histochemical methods: Fontana-Masson, decolorization, and Berlin blue. Melanocytes in the subepithelial layer were identified by transmission electron microscopy. Case 2: Male, 53 years old. Diagnosed as having nervus of Ota. When he underwent radical operation of the middle ear for cholesteatomatous otitis media, pigmentation in the middle ear mucosa was observed. Melanocytes with mature melanosomes were identified by electron microscopy.
