Over the past one hundred years medical views on the cause of glue ear have frequently changed. The medical literature was reviewed to see if these changes reflected advances in the level of scientific support for different causes. This revealed that only a few of the many proposed causes command any scientific support. An explanation for the changing pattern of views on the aetiology of glue ear was therefore sought by considering secular changes in medical knowledge and belief in general. This suggested that the views held on the cause of glue ear at any given time are influenced and largely determined by the prevailing knowledge and beliefs of medicine as a whole. This phenomenon is not peculiar to glue ear—though conditions about which there is considerable uncertainty are probably more susceptible to such influences.

At the present time, viral laryngotracheobronchitis. (LTB), and bacterial epiglottitis account for the majority of cases of acute infectious upper airway obstruction in children. This airway obstruction may become life-threatening and require relief either by tracheotomy or by nasotracheal intubation. Recently the trend has been away from tracheotomy and towards intubation. Three cases are reported in this paper, in which intubation by experienced anaesthetists proved impossible, and a life-saving tracheotomy was immediately performed by the otolaryngologist in attondance.

It is recommended that an experienced otolaryngologist should always be present at the time of intubation, should it prove impossible, and the child require emergency tracheotomy to secure the airway.

Primary Ewing's sarcoma of the ethmoid bone has not been previously described. This case presented as a mass at the nasal bridge and posed diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties. The clinical, radiological, macroscopic and microscopic features are described. The treatment by the combined therapies of cranio-facial resection, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are discussed.