MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 1  Back pain - returning to work. 2  Back pain and sports. 3  Compression fractures of the back. 4  Lifting and bending the right way. 5  Lumbosacral spine x-ray. 6  Returning to sports after a back injury. 7  Spinal fusion. 8  Spinal fusion - slideshow. 9  Vertebroplasty - slideshow.
The mucociliary escalator is one of the major defense mechanisms, which protect the lung, and if the mucociliary escalator fails, it increases the risk that the normal and potentially pathogenic, inhabitants of the nose, throat and the back of the mouth, will descend into the lung, resulting in a potentially life-threatening pneumonia ( Anatomy and Physiology, 2013, p. 139).
The Eustachian tube is used to equalize air pressure between the middle ear and the surrounding area, but it is also used to drain mucus from the middle ear. Keeping the pressure in a person's head equalized helps with balance and preventing dizziness.