Ear, Nose and Throat

Otolaryngology is the division of medicine that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of ear, nose, throat, and head & neck problems. The full name of the specialty is otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. Practitioners are known as Otolaryngologists-head and neck surgeons, or sometimes otorhinolaryngologists or rhinolaryngologist (ORL). A commonly used term for this specialty is ENT (ear, nose and throat). Otolaryngologists are medical professional (MBBS, MBChB, MD, etc.) or osteopathic doctors (DO) who complete at least 5 years of surgical residency training. Currently, this comprises 1 year in general surgical training and 4 years in otolaryngology - neck and head surgery; in the past it varied between 2 and 3 years of each. Otolaryngology is believed to be one of the most competitive residency fields to match into.