Otolaryngology or ENT (ear, nose and throat) is the branch of medicine and surgery that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of ear, nose and throat and head and neck disorders.

The full name of the specialty is otorhinolaryngology,  the full term otorhinolaryngology. Practitioners are called and professionally designated by the more accurate term otolaryngologists–head and neck surgeons, as specialists trained in otolaryngology are experts in surgical conditions of the head & neck. Some people refer to it simply as head and neck surgery.

Otolaryngologists are medical doctors (MD, DO, MBSS, MBChB) who, in the United States 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. In Canada, practitioners complete a five-year residency training after medical school.

Following residency training some otolaryngologists elect to complete advanced subspeciality fellowship training which can be 1–2 years in duration (pediatric otolaryngology, neuro-otology, laryngology, facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, rhinology, or head and neck oncology.