otolaryngologist
Meaning of otolaryngologist: The specialty is defined by a region of the body rather than by one organ, one disease process or one kind of treatment.
Definition of otolaryngologist
An otolaryngologist is a surgeon who diagnoses and treats disorders of the ear, nose, throat and the related structures of the head and neck. The work covers hearing and balance, sinus and nasal disease, voice and swallowing, breathing during sleep, and tumors of this region, managed with medicines, office procedures and operations.
How otolaryngologist is built
- ot/o Combining form · Greek ear
- laryng/o Combining form · Greek larynx, voice box
- -logist Suffix · Greek specialist in a field of study
A medical term is read from its ending backwards: the suffix first, then the prefix, then the root. See all 223 word parts.
Why are the ear, nose and throat one specialty?
Because they are one continuous space. The middle ear drains into the back of the nose through the eustachian tube, the sinuses open into the nasal cavity, and the same lining runs through all of it. A problem in one place therefore shows up in another: nasal swelling blocks the eustachian tube and produces ear pressure and muffled hearing, reflux from the stomach irritates the larynx and produces hoarseness and throat clearing, and pain from the throat is commonly felt in the ear because both are served by branches of the same nerves. Treating these as separate territories would miss the connection every time.
What are the subspecialties?
| Area | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Otology and neurotology | Hearing loss, chronic ear infection, dizziness and balance disorders, implanted hearing devices |
| Rhinology | Chronic sinus disease, nasal obstruction, polyps, the skull base |
| Laryngology | Voice, airway and swallowing disorders |
| Head and neck oncology | Tumors of the mouth, throat, larynx, thyroid and salivary glands |
| Pediatric otolaryngology | Tonsils and adenoids, recurrent ear infection, airway problems present from birth |
| Facial plastic and reconstructive surgery | Repair after injury or tumor removal, and appearance related surgery of the face |
What does the work look like day to day?
Much of it happens in a clinic room rather than an operating room. Flexible and rigid endoscopes give a direct view of the nose, sinuses, larynx and ear canal; hearing and balance testing is interpreted alongside that; and biopsies of accessible lesions are taken on the spot. Surgery ranges from short procedures on the ear or tonsils to long reconstructive operations for head and neck cancer, where the surgeon works with radiation and medical oncologists and with speech and swallowing therapists. Because tumors of the larynx and pharynx sit where breathing, speech and swallowing all pass, treating throat cancer involves preserving those functions as much as removing the disease.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
The patient was referred to an otolaryngologist for evaluation of chronic sinus symptoms.
Good to know
Because the ear, nose, and throat share connected anatomy, an otolaryngologist often evaluates symptoms in one region for a possible cause originating in an adjacent structure, such as ear symptoms related to sinus or throat conditions.
Word origin
Where “otolaryngologist” comes from
Formed from oto-, from Greek ous, otos, meaning ear, laryngo-, from Greek larynx, meaning the upper part of the windpipe, and -logist, from Greek logos, meaning one who studies.