• The middle ear includes the tympanic cavity and the three ossicles. (wikipedia.org)
  • The middle ear contains the three small bones-the ossicles-involved in the transmission of sound, and is connected to the throat at the nasopharynx, via the pharyngeal opening of the Eustachian tube. (wikipedia.org)
  • The ossicles are three small bones that function together to receive, amplify, and transmit the sound from the eardrum to the inner ear. (wikipedia.org)
  • The three ossicles transmit sound from the outer ear to the inner ear. (wikipedia.org)
  • Its major components include the auditory ossicles and the eustachian tube that connects the cavity of middle ear (tympanic cavity) to the upper part of the throat. (lecturio.com)
  • The tympanic membrane is linked to the inner ear by the ossicles, specifically by the mobile foot of the stapes, which lies against the oval window. (cloudaccess.net)
  • The otolith organs include the utricle and the saccule. (medscape.com)
  • The outer ear consists of the pinna and the ear canal. (wikipedia.org)
  • The human ear consists of three parts-the outer ear, middle ear and inner ear. (wikipedia.org)
  • The pinna consists of the curving outer rim called the helix, the inner curved rim called the antihelix, and opens into the ear canal. (wikipedia.org)
  • The ear or auditory organ (Fig. 703) consists of three portions-external, middle, and internal-the last constituting its essential part, since the peripheral terminations of the acoustic nerve are distributed within it. (co.ma)
  • It consists of an anterior chamber and the cochlear duct, which subserves hearing and connects by way of the round saccule with the peripheral vestibular apparatus. (medscape.com)
  • The inner ear consists of the cochlea, the vestibular labyrinth, and the vestibulocochlear nerve. (mskneurology.no)
  • The outer ear consists of the auricle, a cartilaginous skin-covered structure, and the external auditory canal, an irregularly-shaped cylinder approximately 25 mm long which is lined by glands secreting wax. (cloudaccess.net)
  • The middle ear consists of the tympanic cavity, an air-filled cavity whose outer walls form the tympanic membrane (eardrum), and communicates proximally with the nasopharynx by the Eustachian tubes, which maintain pressure equilibrium on either side of the tympanic membrane. (cloudaccess.net)
  • The ear is a self cleaning organ through its relationship with earwax and the ear canals. (wikipedia.org)
  • They are oriented at right angles to each other and are situated so that the superior and posterior canals are at 45° angles to the sagittal plane and the horizontal canal is 30° to the axial plane. (medscape.com)
  • All canals merge into the utricle. (medscape.com)
  • When they contract, vibration and thus also sound is dampened, which should occur when loud sounds enter the auditory canal (i.e the acoustic reflex). (mskneurology.no)
  • The outer ear is the external portion of the ear and includes the fleshy visible pinna (also called the auricle), the ear canal, and the outer layer of the eardrum (also called the tympanic membrane). (wikipedia.org)
  • The tragus protrudes and partially obscures the ear canal, as does the facing antitragus. (wikipedia.org)
  • The hollow region in front of the ear canal is called the concha. (wikipedia.org)
  • The ear canal stretches for about 1 inch (2.5 cm). (wikipedia.org)
  • The skin surrounding the ear canal contains ceruminous and sebaceous glands that produce protective ear wax. (wikipedia.org)
  • The ear canal ends at the external surface of the eardrum. (wikipedia.org)
  • Each canal is maximally responsive to angular motion in the plane in which it is situated and is paired with a canal on the contralateral side so that stimuli that are excitatory to one are inhibitory to the other. (medscape.com)
  • The design of the ear's lobes make it perfect to collect waves and funnel them to the eardrum, which is also known as the tympanic membrane, via the external auditory canal. (mskneurology.no)
  • The external auditory canal is an approximately one inch long tubular structure that the sound waves travel through, ultimately hitting the eardrum and causing its vibration. (mskneurology.no)
  • It has a natural secretion of cerumen (ear wax) that protects the canal and prevents unwanted entities or particles to enter it, thus protecting the eardrum and middle & inner ear segments. (mskneurology.no)
  • The cochlear nerve crosses the inner ear canal and extends to the central structures of the brain stem, the oldest part of the brain. (cloudaccess.net)
  • The middle ear also connects to the upper throat at the nasopharynx via the pharyngeal opening of the Eustachian tube. (wikipedia.org)
  • This transport mechanism (i.e the mucociliary transport mechanism) drains mucus away from the middle ear, and into the nasopharynx via the eustachian tube, thus preventing infection from occurring in the middle ear. (mskneurology.no)
  • The eustachian tube's main role is to equalize the pressure between the in- and outside of the ear, i.e on both sides of the eardrum. (mskneurology.no)
  • Increased pressure in the middle ear, usually due to inability of the eustachian tube to open, will restrict vibrations in the eardrum and thus also dampen hearing. (mskneurology.no)
  • In mammals the ear is usually described as having three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. (wikipedia.org)
  • The middle ear lies between the outer ear and the inner ear. (wikipedia.org)
  • Anatomically, the ear can be divided into 3 parts: the outer ear, the middle ear Middle ear The space and structures directly internal to the tympanic membrane and external to the inner ear (labyrinth). (lecturio.com)
  • The middle ear Middle ear The space and structures directly internal to the tympanic membrane and external to the inner ear (labyrinth). (lecturio.com)
  • Finally, the inner ear contains the bony labyrinth, along with other structures essential for spatial orientation Spatial orientation Change in position or alignment in response to an external stimulus. (lecturio.com)
  • Utricle Utricle A membranous sac within the vestibular labyrinth of the inner ear. (lecturio.com)
  • They are set at right angles to each other and are situated posterosuperior to the vestibule of the bony labyrinth (vestibular labyrinth). (lecturio.com)
  • Diseases of the ear may lead to hearing loss, tinnitus and balance disorders such as vertigo, although many of these conditions may also be affected by damage to the brain or neural pathways leading from the ear. (wikipedia.org)
  • The brain accomplishes this by comparing arrival-times and intensities from each ear, in circuits located in the superior olivary complex and the trapezoid bodies which are connected via pathways to both ears. (wikipedia.org)
  • An ear is the organ that enables hearing and (in mammals) body balance using the vestibular system. (wikipedia.org)
  • All auditory information is transduced by only 15,000 hair cells (organ of Corti), of which the so-called inner hair cells, numbering 3,500, are critically important, since they form synapses with approximately 90% of the 30,000 primary auditory neurons (figure 2). (cloudaccess.net)
  • The body and crus breve are situated in the recessus epitympanicus. (co.ma)
  • The ear develops from the first pharyngeal pouch and six small swellings that develop in the early embryo called otic placodes, which are derived from ectoderm. (wikipedia.org)
  • The external ear, also called the 'pinna' or 'auricle', is designed mainly to capture the sound waves. (mskneurology.no)
  • Since the outer ear is the only visible portion of the ear in most animals, the word "ear" often refers to the external part alone. (wikipedia.org)
  • Two sets of muscles are associated with the outer ear: the intrinsic and extrinsic muscles. (wikipedia.org)
  • The great auricular nerve, auricular nerve, auriculotemporal nerve, and lesser and greater occipital nerves of the cervical plexus all supply sensation to parts of the outer ear and the surrounding skin. (wikipedia.org)
  • the outer ear lies outside the skull, while the other two parts are embedded in the temporal bone (figure 1). (cloudaccess.net)
  • The ear muscles are supplied by the facial nerve, which also supplies sensation to the skin of the ear itself, as well as to the external ear cavity. (wikipedia.org)
  • The germinal cells are always situated beneath the external limiting membrane, and by their division give rise to the neuroblasts. (co.ma)
  • 1 Although it is usual to speak of the external, middle, and internal ear, it would be more correct to use the terms external, middle, and internal portions of the ear. (co.ma)
  • There are three main segments of the ear, namely the external, middle and inner portions. (mskneurology.no)
  • The ear is a very complex network of structures which contribute both to our sense of hearing as well as balance, i.e the vestibular system. (mskneurology.no)
  • The deepest of the depressions is situated near its middle, and is named the concha auriculæ. (co.ma)
  • The saccule is an almost globular-shaped sac that lies in the spherical recess on the medial wall of the vestibule. (medscape.com)
  • The utricle is larger than the saccule and lies posterosuperiorly to it in the elliptical recess of the medial wall of the vestibule. (medscape.com)
  • The ear may be affected by disease, including infection and traumatic damage. (wikipedia.org)
  • The ears of vertebrates are placed somewhat symmetrically on either side of the head, an arrangement that aids sound localization. (wikipedia.org)
  • The symmetrical arrangement of the two ears allows for the localisation of sound. (wikipedia.org)
  • The utricle senses motion in the horizontal plane (eg, forward-backward movement, left-right movement, or a combination thereof). (medscape.com)
  • The saccule senses motions in the sagittal plane (eg, up-down movement). (medscape.com)