Otorhinolaryngology

Otorhinolaryngology /oʊtoʊˌraɪnoʊˌlærənˈɡɒlədʒi/ (also called otolaryngology and otolaryngology–head and neck surgery) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with conditions of the ear, nose, and throat (ENT) and related structures of the head and neck. Doctors who specialize in this area are called otorhinolaryngologists, otolaryngologists, ENT doctors, ENT surgeons, or head and neck surgeons. Patients seek treatment from an otorhinolaryngologist for diseases of the ear, nose, throat, base of the skull, and for the surgical management of cancers and benign tumors of the head and neck. The term is a combination of New Latin combining forms (oto- + rhino- + laryngo- + -logy) derived from four Ancient Greek words: οὖς ous (gen.: ὠτός otos), 'ear', ῥίς rhis, 'nose', λάρυγξ larynx, 'larynx' and -λογία logia, 'study' (cf. Greek ωτορινολαρυγγολόγος, 'otorhinolaryngologist'). Otorhinolaryngologists are physicians (MD, DO, MBBS, MBChB, etc.) who, in the United States, complete at least five years of surgical residency training. This comprises six months of general surgical training and four and a half years in specialist surgery. In Canada and the United States, practitioners complete a five-year residency training after medical school. Following residency training, some otolaryngologist-head & neck surgeons complete an advanced sub-specialty fellowship, where training can be one to two years in duration. In the United States and Canada, otorhinolaryngology is one of the most competitive specialties in medicine in which to obtain a residency position following medical school. In the United Kingdom entrance to otorhinolaryngology higher surgical training is highly competitive and involves a rigorous national selection process. The training programme consists of 6 years of higher surgical training after which trainees frequently undertake fellowships in a sub-speciality prior to becoming a consultant.