Tuberculous infection of the mastoid is of clinical importance, particularly in infants and in children, and a study of the literature reveals that this disease has not received the consideration that has been accorded to other entities. In a discussion of mastoid infection, some mention must be made of the middle ear, as its association with the mastoid is intimate. Turner and Fraser1 reported that in 1,797 cases of suppuration of the middle ear, of the patients under 15 years of age, 2 per cent were tuberculous; under 5 years, 9 per cent; under 2 years, 27 per cent and under 1 year, 50 per cent. McCart2 found the greatest incidence between the ages of 2 and 5 years.
According to Coates,3 mastoiditis in infants, to be distinguished as a separate entity from otitis media, must mean infection of the antral mucosa, of the