THE INNER EAR-Structure

and Physiology Presented by:

Aksheen Malhotra
1DS17ML002
 Introduction

 The inner ear (auris interna) is the innermost part of the ear.
 It is found in all vertebrates, with substantial variations in form and
function.
 It is is innervated by the eighth cranial nerve, in mammals.
 Develops during week 4 of embryonic development
 The inner ear is mainly responsible for sound detection and
balance.
STRUCTURE OF INNER EAR

 It has two parts: the bony labyrinth and the

membranous labyrinth.
 Bony labyrinth

 The bony labyrinth, or osseous labyrinth is a hollow cavity in the temporal bone of the
skull with a system of passages comprising two main functional parts:
o The cochlea, dedicated to hearing; converting sound pressure patterns from the outer
ear into electrochemical impulses which are passed on to the brain via the auditory
nerve.
o The vestibular system, dedicated to balance
 The three structural parts of the bony labyrinth
include:
o The vestibule of the ear
o The 3 semicircular canals
o cochlea
 Membranous Labyrinth

 The membranous labyrinth is a collection of fluid filled tubes and chambers

which contain the receptors for the senses of equilibrium and hearing.
 It is lodged within the bony labyrinth in the inner ear and has the same
general form; it is, however, considerably smaller and is partly separated
from the bony walls by a quantity of fluid, the perilymph
 It contains a fluid called endolymph, which is necessary for postural
equilibrium of the body.
 Within the vestibule, consists of two membranous sacs, the utricle,
and the saccule.
 It is also the location for the receptor cells found in the inner ear.
 Vestibule of the ear

 The vestibule is the central part of the bony labyrinth in the inner ear, and is
situated medial to the eardrum(tympanic cavity), behind the cochlea,
and in front of the three semicircular canals.
 It is somewhat oval in shape, but flattened transversely.
 It measures about 5 mm from front to back, the same from top to bottom,
and about 3 mm across.
 It contains the oval and round windows in its lateral wall.
 It consists of 2 major parts: the utricle and the saccule
 It’s main function is to help the body maintain it’s postural
equilibrium.
Semicircular canals

 These are three semicircular, interconnected tubes located in the innermost part of
each ear.
 The three canals are the horizontal, superior and posterior semicircular canals,which
are at right angles with each other.
 The semicircular ducts provide sensory input for experiences of rotary movements.
Each canal is filled with a fluid called endolymph and contains motion sensors within
the fluids
 The orientations of the canals cause a different canal to be stimulated by movement
of the head in different planes, and more than one canal is stimulated at once if the
movement is off those planes.
 The horizontal canal detects angular acceleration of the head when the head is
turned and the superior and posterior canals detect vertical head movements when
the head is moved up or down.
 Cochlea

 The cochlea is the part of the inner ear involved in hearing.

 It is a spiral-shaped cavity in the bony labyrinth, in humans making 2
turns(full) and a 3/4(3 quarters) turn around its axis, the modiolus.
 A core component of the cochlea is the Organ of Corti,
the sensory organ of hearing, which is distributed
along the partition separating fluid chambers in the
coiled tapered tube of the cochlea.

Fun Fact: In 2009, engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of

Technology created an electronic chip that can quickly analyze
a very large range of radio frequencies while using only a
fraction of the power needed for existing technologies; its design
specifically mimics a cochlea.
Structure of
cochlea
 The cochlear structures include:
 Three scalae or chambers:
 the vestibular duct (containing perilymph), which lies superior to the cochlear duct and abuts
the oval window
 the tympanic duct (containing perilymph), which lies inferior to the cochlear duct and
terminates at the round window
 the cochlear duct (containing endolymph) a region of high potassium ion concentration that
the stereocilia of the hair cells project into
 The helicotrema, the location where the tympanic duct and the vestibular duct merge,
at the apex of the cochlea
 Reissner's membrane, which separates the vestibular duct from the cochlear duct
 The basilar membrane,a main structural element that separates the cochlear duct
from the tympanic duct and determines the mechanical wave propagation
properties of the cochlear partition
 The Organ of Corti, the sensory epithelium, a cellular layer on the basilar membrane,
in which sensory hair cells are powered by the potential difference between the
perilymph and the endolymph
 hair cells, sensory cells in the Organ of Corti, topped with hair-like structures
called stereocilia.
 Organ of Corti

 The organ of Corti, is the receptor organ for

hearing and is located in the cochlea.
 This highly varied strip of epithelial cells allows
for transduction of auditory signals into nerve
impulses' action potential.
 Transduction occurs through vibrations of
structures in the inner ear causing displacement
of cochlear fluid and movement of hair cells at
the organ of Corti to produce
electrochemical signals.
 It has tiny finger like projections called stereocilia, which are arranged in a graduated
fashion with the shortest stereocilia on the outer rows and the longest in the center.
 This gradation is thought to be the most important anatomic feature of the organ of
Corti because this allows the sensory cells superior tuning capability.
 The function of the organ of Corti is to transduce auditory signals and minimise the hair
cells’ extraction of sound energy
PHYSIOLOGY OF INNER EAR

 The inner ear has two physiological functions:

a) Converting sound pressure patterns from the outer ear into
electrochemical impulses which are passed on to the brain
via the auditory nerve.
b) Postural balance
Role of inner ear in hearing

 The function of the inner ear is to transduce vibration into nervous impulses
 This is done mainly by the cochlea.
 The cochlea is filled with a watery liquid, the endolymph, which moves in response
to the vibrations coming from the middle ear via the oval window.
 As the fluid moves, the cochlear partition (basilar membrane and organ of Corti)
moves; thousands of hair cells sense the motion via their stereocilia, and convert
that motion to electrical signals that are communicated via neurotransmitters to
many thousands of nerve cells.
 These primary auditory neurons transform the signals into electrochemical impulses
known as action potentials, which travel along the auditory nerve to structures in
the brainstem for further processing.
Process of hearing inside the inner ear

 The stapes ossicle bone of the middle ear transmits vibrations to the oval window on the
outside of the cochlea, which vibrates the perilymph in the vestibular duct (upper chamber of
the cochlea)
 The vestibular duct ends at the oval window, where the footplate of the stapes sits. The
footplate vibrates when the pressure is transmitted via the ossicular chain. The wave in the
perilymph moves away from the footplate and towards the helicotrema.
 The perilymph in the vestibular duct and the endolymph in the cochlear duct act
mechanically as a single duct, being kept apart only by the very thin Reissner's membrane.
 The vibrations of the endolymph in the cochlear duct displace the basilar membrane
 The organ of Corti vibrates due to outer hair cells further amplifying these vibrations.
 Inner hair cells are then displaced by the vibrations in the fluid, and depolarise by an influx of
K+ via their tip-link-connected channels, and send their signals via neurotransmitter to the
primary auditory neurons of the spiral ganglion.
 The hair cells in the organ of Corti are tuned to certain sound frequencies by way of their
location in the cochlea, due to the degree of stiffness in the basilar membrane.
 Different regions of the basilar membrane in the organ of Corti, vibrate at different sinusoidal
frequencies due to variations in thickness and width along the length of the membrane.
 Nerves that transmit information from different regions of the basilar membrane therefore
encode frequency tonotopically.

NOTE:A very strong movement of the basilar membrane due to very loud noise may cause hair
cells to die. This is a common cause of partial hearing loss and is the reason why users of
firearms or heavy machinery often wear earmuffs or earplugs.
 The physiology of balance: vestibular
function

 The vestibular system is the sensory apparatus of the inner ear that helps the body
maintain its postural equilibrium.
 The information furnished by the vestibular system is also essential for coordinating
the position of the head and the movement of the eyes.
 There are two sets of end organs in the inner ear, or labyrinth: the semicircular
canals, which respond to rotational movements (angular acceleration); and
the utricle and saccule within the vestibule, which respond to changes in the position
of the head with respect to gravity (linear acceleration).
 Functionally these organs are closely related to the cerebellum and to the reflex
centres of the spinal cord and brainstem that govern the movements of the eyes,
neck, and limbs.
Detection of angular acceleration:
dynamic equilibrium

 Because the three semicircular canals—superior, posterior, and

horizontal—are positioned at right angles to one another, they are able to
detect movements in three-dimensional space.
 When the head begins to rotate in any direction, the inertia of the
endolymph causes it to lag behind, exerting pressure that deflects
the cupula(sensory part of saccule) in the opposite direction. This
deflection stimulates the hair cells by bending their stereocilia in the
opposite direction.
 The deflection of the cupula excites the hair cells by bending the cilia
atop them: deflection in one direction depolarizes the cells; deflection in
the other direction hyperpolarizes them.
Detection of linear acceleration: static
equilibrium

 The gravity receptors that respond to linear acceleration of the head are
the maculae of the utricle and saccule.
 The left and right utricular maculae are in the same, approximately
horizontal, plane and, because of this position, are more useful in providing
information about the position of the head and its side-to-side tilts when a
person is in an upright position.
 The saccular maculae are in parallel vertical planes and probably
respond more to forward and backward tilts of the head
 These sensory organs, particularly the utricle, have an important role in the
righting reflexes and in reflex control of the muscles of the legs, trunk,
and neck that keep the body in an upright position
Disturbances of the vestibular system

 The relation between the vestibular apparatus of the two ears is reciprocal. When the
head is turned to the left, the discharge from the left horizontal canal is decreased, and
vice versa.
 Normal posture is the result of their acting in cooperation and in opposition.
 When the vestibular system of one ear is damaged, the unrestrained activity of the
other causes a continuous false sense of turning (vertigo) and rhythmical, jerky
movements of the eyes (nystagmus), both toward the uninjured side.
 When the vestibular hair cells of both inner ears are injured or destroyed, as can occur
during treatment with the antibiotics , there may be a serious disturbance of posture
and gait as well as severe vertigo and disorientation.