Lectured by: Dr.
Eduardo Gonzales
THE EAR
PARTS OF THE EAR
 A pair of complex organs that contains receptors for
two important sensory functions
o Hearing and equilibrioception (sense of balance
or equilibrium)
 3 different regions:
o external ear – outer ear
 collects sound waves and directs them into
the middle ear
o middle ear – tympanic cavity
 amplifies the vibrations that the sound
waves create and transmits them into the
inner ear
o inner ear – internal ear
 receptors of the inner ear converts sound
vibrations into nerve impulses that are then
transmitted via the cochlear division of the
vestibulocochlear nerve to the auditory
center of the brain for interpretation
 All three regions are involved with the sense of
hearing
 Equilibrioception
o Prevents one from falling over when one is
standing erect or walking
o Involves ONLY the inner ear
o Nerve impulses generated by the receptors for
the sense of balance are transmitted to the
o vestibular center of the brain for interpretation
by the vestibular division of CN VIII
Transcribed by: Gio Paulo C. Pineda
Proofread by: Kaye Reyes
EXTERNAL EAR
 Composed of the auricle (pinna) and the external
auditory meatus/ canal
o Auricle is the conical part of the ear that
projects from the lateral surface of the head
o External auditory meatus is an oval canal that
extends from the auricle to the tympanic
membrane, which separates the external from
the middle ear
 Auricle
o Framework of auricle is made by the auricular
cartilage
o Earlobe: inferior part of the auricle is made of
connective tissue
o Auricular cartilage is attached to the skull and
surrounding structures by ligaments and
rudimentary skull muscles
o The skin adheres closely to the perichondrium
of the auricular cartilage anteriorly
o Posteriorly, some amount of subcutaneous
tissue exists between the skin and
perichondrium
 External auditory meatus
o Framework of the outer third is made of elastic
cartilage that is continuous with the auricular
cartilage
o Framework of the inner two-thirds is bone is
elastic cartilage continuous with the auricular
cartilage
o Inner two thirds is bone
 In the cartilaginous part of the canal, the skin
contains coarse hair, large sebaceous glands and
modified sweat glands called ceruminous glands
o Ceruminous glands secrete a waxy secretion
called cerumen
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  Narrow irregular air-filled chamber in the temporal
bone
 Houses the 3 auditory ossicles and 2 small skeletal
muscles
 Bony framework is lined by mucosa that contains
ciliated simple cuboidal epithelium with goblet cells
and an underlying thin lamina propria
 Connections
o Tympanic membrane (eardrum) – separates
MIDDLE EAR middle ear from the external acoustic meatus
o Auditory tube – connects the middle ear to the
 Boundaries of the middle ear nasopharynx
o Anterior: Eustachian Tube o Posteriorly, it communicates with the mastoid
o Posterior: Mastoid Air Sinuses
antrum – an air sinus in the petrous temporal
o Medial: Promontory formed by the vestibule
(oval and round window) bone that leads into the mastoid air sinuses
o Lateral: Tympanic Membrane  Lined by mucosa
 Medial wall of the middle ear contains a rounded
Note: The reason why most children are prone to otitis bulge or prominence and two openings that are
media is because the orientation of their Eustachian closed by membrane
tube is horizontal whereas in adults it is slightly vertical. o Oval window – posterosuperior to the
Respiratory infections may reach the ear via the promontory
Eustachian tube such that the abscess may contain  An orifice that connects the middle ear to
inside the middle ear and perforate the tympanic the vestibule of the inner ear
membrane. o Round window – posteroinferior
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 Eardrum (Tympanum; Tympanic Membrane)  Auditory ossicles
o Thin fibrous membrane attached to the o Malleus – hammer
surrounding bone by a fibrocartilaginous ring  Largest
o 3 histologic layers  Closer to the tympanic membrane
 middle layer – dense connective tissue  Consists of a head, neck, anterior and
made up of collagenous fibers embedded lateral processes and a handle
in a small amount of extracellular material  The handle of the malleus is attached to
arranged into two layers: the eardrum, while its head articulates
 outer radial with the body of the anvil
 inner circular  Manubrium – attaches to the tympanic
 outer layer – thin skin that is continuous membrane
with the skin that lines the external
auditory meatus
o Stratified Squamous
 inner layer – mucosa that is continuous
with the mucosa that lines the middle ear
o in the eardrum, the epithelium is
simple cuboidal that is devoid of
cilia and goblet cells
Note: The outer layer is close to the external auditory
meatus and is continuous with it that is why its cells are
stratified squamous keratinized. 


The radial arrangement of the collagen fibers are

appreciated along the outer portion of the middle layer
whereas the circular arrangement of the collagen fibers
o Incus – anvil
is appreciated towards the center.  In between the malleus and stapes
 Consists of a body, and long and short
The inner portion is close to the middle ear with simple limbs (crus)
cuboidal epithelium without cilia and without goblet  Long crus attaches to the head of the
cells. stapes
 Long limb of the anvil articulates with the
 Auditory tube (Eustachian tube; pharyngotympanic head of the stirrup, whose footplate fits
tube) into the oval window secured by the
o Framework is formed by bone in the segment annular ligament
near the middle ear & by cartilage in the
segment near the nasopharynx
o Epithelium: pseudostratified ciliated columnar
with goblet cells from its opening in the
nasopharynx
 It becomes simple cuboidal with a few
goblet cells near the middle ear
o Lamina Propria contains mixed glands and is
richly supplied by with MALT
o Auditory tube becomes patent when
swallowing helps equalize the pressure on both
sides of the eardrum by allowing outside air to
enter the middle ear
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 o Stapes – stirrup o Perilymph – fluid that fills the bony labyrinth
 Close the promontory o Endolymph - fluid that fills the cavity of the
 Consists of head, anterior limb, posterior membranous labyrinth
limb, and footplate or base (secured to  Increase in K+ concentration
the oval window)  Similar to the ICF

BONY LABYRINTH

 Bony labyrinth
o Located between the middle ear laterally and
the internal acoustic meatus medially
o Internal acoustic meatus – canal that leads to
the cranial cavity
 Serves as a passage way for CN VII & CN
VIII
o Bony labyrinth has three parts
o Articulating surfaces of the three ossicles are  Vestibule
lined with hyaline cartilage  Semicircular canals
 Cochlea
 Skeletal muscles in the middle ear
o Tensor tympani – attached to the malleus o Vestibule
o Stapedius – attached to the stirrup  Center of the bony labyrinth
o These muscles contract to minimize excessive
 Lateral wall contains 2 orifices
 Oval window – closed by the
footplate of the stapes and its
anchoring ligament, the annular
ligament
 Round window – closed by a fibrous
membrane the secondary tympanic
membrane
 Medial wall contains an orifice that leads
to the vestibular aqueduct
 Tiny canal that opens into the
posterior surface of the petrous part
of the temporal bone
 Contains the endolymphatic duct
movements of the ossicles
o Semicircular canals
INNER EAR  Anterior, posterior, and lateral
semicircular canals
o Consists of a set of fluid filled bony cavities  One of the two ends of each semicircular
within the petrous part of the temporal bone, canal exhibits a dilatation called ampulla,
collectively referred as the bony labyrinth whose diameter is about twice that of the
o Membranous labyrinth – fluid filled membrane rest of the tube
bound structures found in the bony labyrinth  Oriented vertically
and bathed by perilymph
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o Cochlea
 Spiral tunnel
 It coils around a piece of bone called the
modiolus
 The base of the cochlea which is oriented
posteromedially is continuous with the
vestibule
 The apex, which is oriented
anterolaterally, on the other hand, ends
blindly
 Modiolus, which serves as a pillar around
which the cochlea spirals consists of
 Contains spiral ganglion that is made
up of the cell bodies of bipolar
sensory neurons whose dendrites are
in the organ of Corti; and the efferent
fibers (axons) of inhibitory neurons,
whose terminations are also in the
organ of corti

 Axons of the bipolar neurons together

with the efferent fibers (axons) of the
inhibitory neurons comprise the cochlear
nerve
 Joins the vestibular nerve in the
internal acoustic meatus to form the
vestibulocochlear nerve
 Periosteum is thickened to form the spiral
ligament
 Basilar membrane – separates the osseous
spiral lamina and the spiral ligament is
bridged by this fibrous connective tissue

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  3 longitudinal channels within the cochlea
 Scala media – endolymph filled cavity
of the cochlear duct
 Scala vestibuli – perilymph filled. Lies
above to the scala media
 Scala tympani – lies inferior to the
scala media and that is also filled with
perilymph
 The scala vestibule and scala tympani
communicates with each other at the apex
of the cochlea through a small opening,
the helicotrema
 Cochlear aqueduct – small canal that also
contains perilymph and which connects
the scala tympani with the subarachnoid
space in posterior cranial fossa
 Cochlear duct
o Triangular in cross section
o Lower end extends into the vestibule and is
connected to the lower end of the saccule by a
tiny tube, the ductus reuniens
o Stria vascularis – outer wall of the cochlear
duct (stratified cuboidal epithelium)
o The roof of the cochlear duct, which consists of
a single layer of squamous cells (mesothelium),
adheres to the mesothelium that lines the
luminal surface of the scala vestibuli
o Together the two mesothelial layers comprise
the vestibular membrane (Reissner’s
membrane – separates scala vestibuli from
scala media)
o Interdental cells – produce components of the
tectorial membrane 


Note: The space found in between the bony and

membranous labyrinth is the endolymphatic space
which contains perilymph

ORGAN OF CORTI

MEMBRANOUS LABYRINTH
 Organ of corti
 Membranous labyrinth o Made up of sensory cells (hair cells) and
o Two components supporting cells
 Cochlear duct – contains sensory o Supporting cells
structures for hearing  Pillar cells and phalangeal cells
 Vestibular apparatus – contains the o Central area of the organ of Corti is occupied
sensory structures for balance or by a triangular canal, the inner tunnel (Tunnel
equilibrium of Corti)
 Made up of 2 sacs: o Pillar cells that are along the inner wall of the
o utricle and the saccule tunnel are called inner pillar cells while those
o three semicircular ducts that are along the outer wall are called outer
(anterior, posterior and lateral) pillar cells

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o The inner and outer pillar cells slant towards
each other and their apices come into contact
to enclose, together with the basilar
membrane, the tunnel of Corti.
o Hair cells of the organ of Corti are columnar
cells and have minimal capacity to regenerate
 A quarter of them, the inner hair cells,
form a single row internal to the inner
pillar cells
 Surrounded by inner phalangeal cells
 The outer hair cells form three to five
rows external to the outer pillar cells
 Surrounded by outer phalangeal cells
 Inner and outer hair cells incline towards
each other
 Vestibular apparatus
o The stereocilia of the hair cells are embedded
in the tectorial membrane - a gelatinous sheet
of glycoprotein that moves in response to
pressure variations in the perilymph-filled scala
tympani and vestibule
VESTIBULAR APPARATUS
o Consists of the utricle, saccule and the three
semi-lunar ducts
o Utricle is an irregularly shaped elongated
pouch that occupies the posterosuperior
region of the vestibule
 Connected to the saccule by a Y-shaped
duct, the utricosaccular duct (one arm of
this duct, the endolymphatic duct, is
lodged on the vestibular aqueduct)
 the endolymphatic duct has an expanded
blind end called endolymphatic sac
o The wall of the utricle, saccule, and
semicircular ducts consists of an epithelium
and an underlying fibrous connective tissue
o Epithelium: simple squamous or cuboidal
except in the endolymphatic sac and the 5
areas where the receptors for the sense of
balance are located
o Maculae
 Small regions of the epithelium of the
utricle and saccule
 Consists of a columnar epithelium that has
two basic types of cells: hair cells (sensory
cells) and supporting cells
 Hair cells have been shown to have two
types
 Type I (goblet cells)
 Type II (columnar cells)
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 o Innervation of the maculae and cristae
 Bipolar sensory neurons whose sensory
axons are in contact with the hair cells in
the maculae and cristae comprise the
vestibular ganglion (Scarpa’s ganglion)
 Axons of the bipolar sensory neurons and
efferent neurons form the vestibular
division of the vestibulocochlear nerve

o Cristae Ampullaris
 Rests on a transverse ridge of supporting
connective tissue that projects into the
cavity of the ampulla of its semicircular
canal
 Also consists of two types of cells
 Supporting cells
 Hair cells (sensory cells)

PAST E RATIONALIZATION

16. The following are TRUE regarding the external,

EXCEPT:
a. It is composed of auricle and the external
auditory meatus
b. The framework of the auricle is made of a
single piece of irregular shaped hyaline
cartilage
- ELASTIC cartilage not hyaline. Hyaline is
for the ossicles.
c. The outer third of the external auditory meatus
is made up cartilaginous framework
d. It is separated from the middle ear by the
tympanum

17. The auricle or pinna is made up of what type of

cartilage?
a. Elastic
b. Hyaline
- Ossicles
c. Fibrous
- Tympanic membrane
d. A and C

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18. Ceruminous glands that are found in the outer third
of the external auditory canal are: 23. Which of the following secures the footplate of
a. Modified sweat gland stapes into the oval window?
- Ceruminous glands are specialized sweat a. Annular ligament
glands so this is the answer - Annular ligament of stapes is a ring of
b. Modified sebaceous gland fibrous tissue that connects the base of
- Secrete an oily or waxy matter (sebum)
the stapes to the oval window of the inner
c. Holocrine glands
ear
- Mode of secretion in exocrine glands
b. Fenestra vestibule
produced in the cytoplasm
- Leads from the middle ear to the vestibule
d. B and C
of the inner ear
19. Which of the following structures forms the lateral c. Spiral ligament
border of the middle ear? - arises from the periosteum of the bony
a. Promontory labyrinth
- medial d. Fenestra rotunda
b. Mastoid air sinuses - Round window – one of the two openings
- posterior into the inner ear; closed off from the
c. Tympanum middle ear by the round window
d. Auditory tube membrane – allows fluid in the cochlea to
- anterior move

20. Histologically, the middle layer of the tympanic 24. Which of the following best describe/s the inner ear?
membrane is composed of:
a. It located within the petrous part of the
a. Outer collagenous fibers that are arranged in
temporal bone.
circular pattern
b. The cochlea, vestibule and semicircular
- Radial
b. Inner collagenous fibers that are arranged in canals form the bony labyrinth that contains
radial pattern endolymph.
- Circular - should be perilymph
c. Both c. Within the bony labyrinth is the membranous
d. Neither portion that contains perilymph.
-should be endolymph
21. The epithelium that lines the distal third of the d. All of the above
auditory tube
a. Stratified squamous keratinizing 25. Which of the following structures forms the center of
- Outer layer of tympanic membrane similar the bony labyrinth?
to external auditory meatus a. Vestibule
b. Stratified cuboidal b. Saccule
- Inner tympanic membrane
- Membranous; vertical
c. Pseudostratified ciliated columnar with
c. Utricle
goblet cells
- Membranous; horizontal
d. Ciliated simple cuboidal with goblet cells
- Lining of the middle ear up to the proximal d. Cochlea
portion of the Eustachian tube; inner layer of - From the base
tympanic is simple cuboidal
26. Endolymph is/are found in which of these structures?
22. The articulating surfaces of the three (3) ossicles are lined a. Scala media
by what type of cartilage? b. Membranous labyrinth
a. hyaline
c. Both
b. elastic
- auricular cartilage - Vs Perilymph which is scala tympani and
c. fibrous vestibule; bony labyrinth
- tympanic membrane d. Neither
d. A and C
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27. The cochlear duct communicates with the saccule
through which structure?
a. Hensen’s duct
b. Stensen’s duct END OF TRANSCRIPTION
- Parotid gland References:
c. endolymphatic duct  Esteban and Gonzales’ Textbook of Histology
- Extension of the membranous labyrinth
 Junqueira’s Basic Histology Text & Atlas
d. vestibular aqueduct
 Lecture Notes
- Extension of the bony labyrinth that
contains the endolymphatic duct  Past transcriptions

28. Which of the following forms the roof of the scala

media?
a. Tectorial membrane
b. Reissner’s membrane
- Separates the scala vestibule and scala
media How can something so wrong feel so right all along?
c. Otolithic membrane Catch me. I’m falling for you.
- Hair cells of the maculae are embedded
here
d. Basilar membrane
- Connects osseous spiral lamina and spiral
ligament

29. Which of the following produces the endolymph in

the scala media?
a. Osseous spiral lamina
- Contains axons of the sensory axons of the
spiral ganglion
b. Spiral limbus
- Angle formed between the union of the
vestibular and basilar membrane
c. Spiral ligament
- Arises from the periosteum of the bony
labyrinth
d. Stria vascularis
- Secretes endolymph; located near the
bony labyrinth adjacent to the scala media

30. The gelatinous glycoprotein material that embeds the

stereocilia and kinocilium of hair cells in the cristae is
called as:
a. Cupola
- Gelatinous protein covering the hair cells
b. Otolithic membrane
- Where the hair cells of the macular are
embedded; gelatinous material
c. Otoconia
- Calcium carbonate crystals found on top of
the otolithic membrane
d. Statoconial membrane
- Also known as otolithic membrane

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