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JAMES Q. GANT, Jr., M.D.

AMA Arch Derm. 1959;79(6):651-653.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

Cerumen, the waxy exudate of the external auditory canal, is composed of two elements: a fatty and tenacious substance secreted by the sebaceous glands deep within the external canal and a thin, milky liquid secreted by the apocrine sweat glands near the external orifice. The thin secretion of the apocrine glands dilutes this heavy sebaceous material, and the result is a soft, malleable wax.¹

The movement of the jaws displaces this wax and forces it forward along the canal to the external orifice, where it is ultimately excreted along with the debris it has gathered in the course of its migration. This normal procedure can be interrupted by various factors. If the volume of apocrine sweat secreted is proportionately small or the volume of sebum is proportionately great, the resulting cerumen will be hard and difficult to move along the canal. This retained cerumen loses what . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
Washington, D. C.

Footnotes
Submitted for publication Sept. 19, 1958.

Chief, Skin and Allergy Clinics, Regional Office of the Veterans Administration, and Assistant Professor of Dermatology, George Washington University.

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