ANATOMY OF THE EAR

It is situated bilaterally on the human skull, The main functions of the ear
are, of course, hearing, as well as constantly maintaining balance. The ear
is anatomically divided into three portions:

• External ear
• Middle ear
• Internal ear
• The pinna collects and reflects the sound waves into the meatus.

Key facts about the external ear

Parts Auricle, external acoustic meatus

 Innervation branches of the facial nerve

Function Conducts sound to the inner ear

• At the bottom of the ear canal is the tympanic membrane which

establishes the border between the external and middle ear.
• The pinna, is a wrinkly musculo cutaneous tissue that is attached to
the skull and it functions to capture sound. It is mostly made up of
cartilage that is covered with skin.
• The lateral aspect is concave and presents numerous grooves and
ridges.

External auditory meatus

• This is a bony-cartilaginous canal that projects from the pinna to the

middle ear, from which it is separated by the tympanic membrane
(eardrum).
• Tympanic membrane: the eardrum, is found at the bottom of the bony
external acoustic meatus and it is the border between the external and
middle ear. It is attached with a fibrocartilaginous ring to the tympanic
part of the temporal bone. The lateral side of the tympanic membrane is
covered with skin and a thin layer of the cerumen.
• The ceruminous glands secrete the ear wax or the cerumen which traps
the dust particles
• The middle ear is a complex system of openings and canals placed
mostly within the temporal bone. Its function is to transfer vibrations of
the tympanic membrane into sound waves and pass them to the inner
ear.
• .Anterior to the tympanic cavity is the tube (Eustachian tube) which
extends to the pharynx,

Key facts about the middle ear

Parts Tympanic cavity,

Function Transfers vibrations of the tympanic membrane into sound waves

pass them to the inner ear
Auditory ossicles: Malleus (hammer), Incus(anvil) and stapes (stirrup)

• The malleus is laterally attached to the tympanic membrane and

medially it articulates with the incus
• From the tympanic membrane it further transmits to the incus.
• The stapes is the shortest bone of the human body and is connected
with the oval window
• These bones remain articulated with one another forming a complex
system of levers stretching across the middle ear,
• These are bound by ligaments
• These help in amplification of the sound waves

• Eustachian tube, connects the middle ear and the nasopharynx. The
air pressure in the external ear and the nasopharynx is equal to
atmospheric (open air) pressure, so this communication between the
middle ear and the nasopharynx serves primarily to equalize pressure on
both sides of the tympanic membrane.

• Equalization happens with the tube staying closed most of the time. The
action of yawning or swallowing opens the tube, which allows air to flow
and pressure to equalize.

• Any imbalance of the static pressure affects the transmission of the

middle ear structure. While landing or taking off in the aircraft this is
generally felt, there is change of air pressure and this may produce a
considerable stress on the tympanic membrane. So there is a need for
equalizing this pressure with the outside pressure, this is achieved
through the Eustachian tube
• The internal ear hastwo parts: the cochlea and the vestibular canal

• The vestibular apparatus consists of rigid bony labyrinth which has within
it many hollow membranous structures called the membranous labyrinth

• The bony labyrinth include the vestibule, the semicircular canals and the
cochlea

• These three communicating cavities are filled with perilymph

 • The membranous labyrinth lies within the bony labyrinth and is mde of
the cochlear duct, saccule and utricle, and the three semicircular ducts

• This is filled with endolymph

Semicircular canals
• The canals are placed in three different planes, where each canal
makes an angle of 90 degrees with the other. Within the
semicircular canal are the corresponding semicircular ducts of
the membranous labyrinth.
• Each canal ends in the form of a dilated ampulla, while the rest of
the canal is narrow.
• Each ampulla has crista which possess hair cells
• Change of pressure of the endolymph acts as the stimulus, so when the head is
rotated, the criste is stimulated which sends up impulses towards the brain
giving information about the movement of the head in that plane,

• The otlithic organs are the utricle and the saccule

• The inner surface of the utricle is covered with sensory tissue for
balance called the macula of the utricle. This tissue comprises of cells
that are rich with cilia and otholites. The macula responds to both
centrifugal and linear acceleration,

• The saccule is smaller than the utricle , On the inner surface of the
saccule is the sensory tissue called macula of the saccule that
responds to linear acceleration.

• Here gravity acts as the stimulus. And these otolithic organs gives an
information about the static position of the head (static
equilibrium) and not of movement
• The cochlea is made of a bony canal arranged spirally, like the
shell of a snail. This canal has been subdivided into three canals, the
upper nd the lower canals are filled with perilymoh but the middle canal
is filled with endolymph.

• On the basilar membrane inside this duct is the spiral organ, called the
Organ of Corti, which is the organ of hearing. This structure contains
mechanoreceptors called hair cells.

• The hair cells are covered with the tectorial membrane, which moves
during oscillations of the endolymph that happen each time a sound
wave is transmitted.
• The movements of the tectorial membrane stimulate the hair cells
which then generate electrical impulses that transmit through the
cochlear nerve to the brain