Otolaryngology is the branch of medicine that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of ear, nose, throat, and head and neck disorders. The full name of the specialty is otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. Practitioners are called otolaryngologists-head and neck surgeons, or sometimes otorhinolaryngologists (ORL). A commonly used term for this specialty is ENT (ear, nose and throat). The term comes from the Greek ωτολαρυγγολογία (oto = genitive for ear, laryngo = genitive for larynx/throat, logy = study), and it literally means the study of ear and neck. The full term ωτορρινολαρυγγολογία (otorhinolaryngology), also includes rhino, which is the genitive of nose.
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Otolaryngologists are medical doctors (MD, MBBS, MBChB, etc.) or osteopathic doctors (DO) who complete at least five years of surgical residency training. This is composed of one year in general surgical training and four years in otolaryngology - head and neck surgery; in the past it varied between two and three years of each.
Following residency training some otolaryngologists elect to complete advanced subspeciality fellowship training which can range from as little as 2 weekend courses (Allergy)[1] or as long as 1-2 years in duration (pediatric otolaryngology)[2].
(*Currently recognized by American Board of Medical Subspecialties)
| Head and Neck | Facial plastics* | Otology | Neuro-otology* | Rhinology/Sinus | Laryngology | Pediatrics* | Sleep* |
| Surgical oncology | Facial cosmetics | Ear | Middle and inner ear | Sinusitis | Voice therapy | VeloPalatine-Insufficiency | |
| Reconstruction | Maxillofacial | Hearing | Temporal bone | Allergy | Phono-surgery | Cleft Lip and Palate | |
| Endocrine surgery | Trauma | Skull base | Anterior skull base | Airway | |||
| Dizziness | Apnea and snoring | Vascular Malformations | |||||
| Cochlear Implant/BAHA |
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Rhinology pertains to sinus diseases and the anterior skull base.