ABSTRACT
Routine upper airway examination usually consists of inspection of the anterior nares with an otoscope or nasal speculum and examination of the pharynx with a tongue depressor. Many physicians use an otoscope as a light source; however, this instrument permits limited examination of only the proximal structures. The traditional speculum and head mirror allow examination of large portions of the nasal cavity as well as part of the nasopharynx. Use of a tongue depressor permits evaluation of parts of the posterior pharyngeal wall, but an indirect mirror examination allows a more complete inspection of the nasopharynx, hypopharynx and the glottic structures. These conventional methods do not permit examination of the recessed structures of the upper airway, such as the sinus ostia, sphenoethmoidal recess and eustachian tube ostium.
