Cerumenolytic Agents: Compounds that disintegrate natural waxy exudates such as EAR WAX.Cerumen: The yellow or brown waxy secretions produced by vestigial apocrine sweat glands in the external ear canal.Ear Canal: The narrow passage way that conducts the sound collected by the EAR AURICLE to the TYMPANIC MEMBRANE.Cerebrospinal Fluid Otorrhea: Discharge of cerebrospinal fluid through the external auditory meatus or through the eustachian tube into the nasopharynx. This is usually associated with CRANIOCEREBRAL TRAUMA (e.g., SKULL FRACTURE involving the TEMPORAL BONE;), NEUROSURGICAL PROCEDURES; or other conditions, but may rarely occur spontaneously. (From Am J Otol 1995 Nov;16(6):765-71)Ear Diseases: Pathological processes of the ear, the hearing, and the equilibrium system of the body.Tympanic Membrane: An oval semitransparent membrane separating the external EAR CANAL from the tympanic cavity (EAR, MIDDLE). It contains three layers: the skin of the external ear canal; the core of radially and circularly arranged collagen fibers; and the MUCOSA of the middle ear.Fecal Impaction: Formation of a firm impassable mass of stool in the RECTUM or distal COLON.Dizziness: An imprecise term which may refer to a sense of spatial disorientation, motion of the environment, or lightheadedness.Otolaryngology: A surgical specialty concerned with the study and treatment of disorders of the ear, nose, and throat.Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases: Pathological processes of the ear, the nose, and the throat, also known as the ENT diseases.Practice Guidelines as Topic: Directions or principles presenting current or future rules of policy for assisting health care practitioners in patient care decisions regarding diagnosis, therapy, or related clinical circumstances. The guidelines may be developed by government agencies at any level, institutions, professional societies, governing boards, or by the convening of expert panels. The guidelines form a basis for the evaluation of all aspects of health care and delivery.Audiology: The study of hearing and hearing impairment.Patents as Topic: Exclusive legal rights or privileges applied to inventions, plants, etc.Inventions: A novel composition, device, or process, independently conceived de novo or derived from a pre-existing model.Genes, Switch: Genes that cause the epigenotype (i.e., the interrelated developmental pathways through which the adult organism is realized) to switch to an alternate cell lineage-related pathway. Switch complexes control the expression of normal functional development as well as oncogenic transformation.Biotechnology: Body of knowledge related to the use of organisms, cells or cell-derived constituents for the purpose of developing products which are technically, scientifically and clinically useful. Alteration of biologic function at the molecular level (i.e., GENETIC ENGINEERING) is a central focus; laboratory methods used include TRANSFECTION and CLONING technologies, sequence and structure analysis algorithms, computer databases, and gene and protein structure function analysis and prediction.Genetic Engineering: Directed modification of the gene complement of a living organism by such techniques as altering the DNA, substituting genetic material by means of a virus, transplanting whole nuclei, transplanting cell hybrids, etc.Granulovirus: A genus of the family BACULOVIRIDAE, subfamily Eubaculovirinae, characterized by ovicylindrical occlusion bodies. The type species is Cydia pomonella granulovirus.Ligands: A molecule that binds to another molecule, used especially to refer to a small molecule that binds specifically to a larger molecule, e.g., an antigen binding to an antibody, a hormone or neurotransmitter binding to a receptor, or a substrate or allosteric effector binding to an enzyme. Ligands are also molecules that donate or accept a pair of electrons to form a coordinate covalent bond with the central metal atom of a coordination complex. (From Dorland, 27th ed)Equipment Design: Methods of creating machines and devices.Magnetite Nanoparticles: Synthesized magnetic particles under 100 nanometers possessing many biomedical applications including DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS and CONTRAST AGENTS. The particles are usually coated with a variety of polymeric compounds.Nanoparticles: Nanometer-sized particles that are nanoscale in three dimensions. They include nanocrystaline materials; NANOCAPSULES; METAL NANOPARTICLES; DENDRIMERS, and QUANTUM DOTS. The uses of nanoparticles include DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS and cancer targeting and imaging.Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy: Spectroscopic method of measuring the magnetic moment of elementary particles such as atomic nuclei, protons or electrons. It is employed in clinical applications such as NMR Tomography (MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING).Magnetics: The study of MAGNETIC PHENOMENA.Sensitivity and Specificity: Binary classification measures to assess test results. Sensitivity or recall rate is the proportion of true positives. Specificity is the probability of correctly determining the absence of a condition. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)Biological Science Disciplines: All of the divisions of the natural sciences dealing with the various aspects of the phenomena of life and vital processes. The concept includes anatomy and physiology, biochemistry and biophysics, and the biology of animals, plants, and microorganisms. It should be differentiated from BIOLOGY, one of its subdivisions, concerned specifically with the origin and life processes of living organisms.Documentation: Systematic organization, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of specialized information, especially of a scientific or technical nature (From ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science, 1983). It often involves authenticating or validating information.Science: The study of natural phenomena by observation, measurement, and experimentation.Compliance: Distensibility measure of a chamber such as the lungs (LUNG COMPLIANCE) or bladder. Compliance is expressed as a change in volume per unit change in pressure.Quality of Life: A generic concept reflecting concern with the modification and enhancement of life attributes, e.g., physical, political, moral and social environment; the overall condition of a human life.Biology: One of the BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES concerned with the origin, structure, development, growth, function, genetics, and reproduction of animals, plants, and microorganisms.Natural Science Disciplines: The sciences dealing with processes observable in nature.Tongue: A muscular organ in the mouth that is covered with pink tissue called mucosa, tiny bumps called papillae, and thousands of taste buds. The tongue is anchored to the mouth and is vital for chewing, swallowing, and for speech.Taste Buds: Small sensory organs which contain gustatory receptor cells, basal cells, and supporting cells. Taste buds in humans are found in the epithelia of the tongue, palate, and pharynx. They are innervated by the CHORDA TYMPANI NERVE (a branch of the facial nerve) and the GLOSSOPHARYNGEAL NERVE.Hyoid Bone: A mobile U-shaped bone that lies in the anterior part of the neck at the level of the third CERVICAL VERTEBRAE. The hyoid bone is suspended from the processes of the TEMPORAL BONES by ligaments, and is firmly bound to the THYROID CARTILAGE by muscles.Taste: The ability to detect chemicals through gustatory receptors in the mouth, including those on the TONGUE; the PALATE; the PHARYNX; and the EPIGLOTTIS.Labial FrenumTongue Neoplasms: Tumors or cancer of the TONGUE.Lingual Frenum: MUCOUS MEMBRANE extending from floor of mouth to the under-surface of the tongue.