EAR ANATOMY

EAR
• Divided into three(3) parts:
• Outer ear
• Middle ear
• Inner ear
• first two are concerned only with the transmission of sound to the
inner ear
• inner ear – vibrations converted
to nerve signals
OUTER (EXTERNAL ) EAR
• Comprises
• Pinna(auricle)
• external auditory meatus (auditory canal)
• tympanic membrane.
 OUTER EAR
AURICLE(PINNA)
• Auricle (pinna) collects and directs sound waves down the auditory
canal and supports worn glasses.
• Funnel-shaped and supported by elastic cartilage.
• Lined by adherent skin with hairs
• five critical elements:
• concha
• helix,
• antihelix
• Tragus
• lobule Antitragus
• intertragic notch
• Darwin's tubercle (of lesser importance)
OUTER EAR
OUTER EAR
• Incisura terminalis – between the crus of the helix and the tragus.
It is devoid of cartilage. Serves as site for surgical incisions to the
ear.
• Intra- and inter-individual morphological variations exists
• Cartilage free lobule forms the inferior attachment. Made of fibro
fatty tissue.
• Three extrinsic muscles; anterior, superior and posterior auricular
muscles attach the auricle to the scalp.
OUTTER EAR
EXTERNAL ACOUSTIC MEATUS(AUDITORY CANAL)
• about 3cm long and 7mm wide in adults.
• Extends from the conchal bowl to TM
• Anteroinferior wall is longer than posterosuperior due to the obliquity
of the TM
• Lateral 1/3 is cartilaginous(wider).
• Medial 2/3 is bony
• Fissures of santorini: deficiencies(gaps) in the cartilage.
• Spread of infections b/n the parotid gland and lateral 1/3 of the meatus occur
here.
• Hairs and glands(sebaceous and ceruminous) located at lateral 1/3.
• Hair traps foreign particles.
OUTER EAR
• Osseo- cartilaginous junction(O-CJ)- meeting of bony and
cartilaginous parts.
• Isthmus- narrowest part of the meatus.
• Water and foreign materials most likely to lodge here.
 OUTER EAR
Tympanic membrane(Ear drum)
• Lies obliquely across the end of the meatus
• Consists of three layers:
• outer (cutaneous)
• intermediate (fibrous)
• inner(mucous) layer.
• Has a thickened fibrocartilaginous ring at the greater part of its
circumference, which is fixed in the tympanic sulcus at the inner end of the
meatus.
• Pars flaccida: a small triangular portion between the anterior and
posterior malleolar fold (deficient ring and lack of fibrous layer)
• Pars tensa:
• cone of light: is a triangular reflection of light seen in the anterior–
inferior quadrant.
• Umbo(Latin for “knob”): the most depressed center point of the
concavity.
MIDDLE EAR (TYMPANUM)
• Middle ear - located in the air-filled tympanic cavity in temporal bone.
• About 2-3mm in diameter b/n outer and inner ears.
• It has two main openings;
• from epitympanic recess through the aditus to mastoid air cells and antrum
• Pharyngotympanic tube/auditory tube/Eustachian tube.
• It has two sealed openings;
• oval window sealed by the foot plate of the stapes and
• round window sealed by the secondary tympanic membrane
MIDDLE EAR

BOUNDARIES OF THE TYMPANIC CAVITY

• Roof: tegmen tympani.
• Floor: jugular fossa.
• Anterior: carotid canal.
• Posterior: mastoid air cells and mastoid antrum through the aditus
• Lateral: tympanic membrane
• Medial: lateral wall of the inner ear, presenting the promontory formed by
the basal turn of the cochlea, the fenestra vestibuli (oval window), the
fenestra cochlea (round window), and the prominence of the facial canal.
MIDDLE EAR
• Auditory (Eustachian) tube:
• connects middle ear cavity to nasopharynx
• equalizes air pressure on both sides of tympanic membrane
• normally flattened and closed and swallowing and yawning opens it
• allows throat infections to spread to the middle ear
• auditory ossicles
malleus –
• head: head articulates with the incus in the epitympanic recess
• Neck
• handle (manubrium): Its handle is fused to the medial surface of the
tympanic membrane and serves as an attachment for the tensor tympani
muscle.
• anterior process
• lateral process
MIDDLE EAR
MIDDLE EAR
Incus (Anvil)
• Consists of a body and
• two processes (crura)
• long process articulates with the stapes
• short process provides provides attachment for the posterior ligament
of the incus.
MIDDLE EAR
Stapes (Stirrup)
• Consists of a
• head
• neck: provides insertion of the stapedius muscle

• two processes (crura)

• base (footplate): attached by the annular ligament to the margin of the
oval window (fenestra vestibuli
• otosclerosis: Abnormal ossification between the footplate and the oval
window limits the movement of the stapes, causing deafness
 MIDDLE EAR
Two main muscles
• Stapedius muscle
• attached to the neck of the stapes.
• It’s the smallest muscle in the body
• Innervated by the facial nerve.
• Hyperacusia (hyperacusis)- excessive acuteness of hearing due to paralyses of
the stapedius.
• tensor tympani muscles
• attached to the handle of the malleus. Contracts in response to loud noise to
tense the TM and reduce vibrations.
• Innervated by the trigeminal nerve(V3)
MIDDLE EAR
• Otitis media (middle ear infection) is common in children
• auditory tube is short and horizontal
• infections easily spread from throat to tympanic cavity and mastoid air cells
INNER(INTERNAL) EAR
The inner ear also known the labyrinth is housed in the petrous part of
the temporal bone. it consists of
• Osseous(bony) labyrinth-passageways in temporal bone. Contains
perilymph similar to cerebrospinal fluid. Consists of the ff. parts
• vestibule
• three semicircular canals
• cochlea
• Membranous labyrinth- fleshy tubes lining the bony labyrinth.
Contains endolymph similar to intracellular fluid.
• Saccule and utricle lines the vestibule
• Semicircular ducts lines the semicircular canals
• Cochlea ducts lines the cochlea
STRUCTURE OF
INNER(INTERNAL) EAR
Endolymphatic
Temporal bone sac
Dura mater
Semicircular ducts:
Anterior

Posterior

Scala vestibuli
Lateral
Scala tympani
Semicircular canal
Cochlear duct
Ampulla
Vestibule:
Saccule
Utricle
Tympanic
membrane

Stapes Secondary tympanic membrane

in oval window in round window

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INNER EAR
• cochlea has three fluid-filled chambers separated by membranes:
• scala vestibuli – superior chamber
• filled with perilymph
• begins at oval window and spirals to apex

• Scala tympani – inferior chamber

• filled with perilymph
• begins at apex and ends at round window
• secondary tympanic membrane – membrane covering round
window
16-29
STRUCTURE OF THE INNER (INTERNAL)
EAR

• scala media (cochlear duct) – triangular middle chamber

• filled with endolymph
• separated from:
• scala vestibuli by vestibular membrane
• scala tympani by thicker basilar membrane
• contains spiral organ - organ of Corti - acoustic organ – converts
vibrations into nerve impulses

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STRUCTURE OF THE
INNER(INTERNAL) EAR
• spiral organ has epithelium composed of hair cells and supporting
cells

• hair cells have long, stiff microvilli called stereocilia on apical surface
• gelatinous tectorial membrane rests on top of stereocilia

• spiral organ has four rows of hair cells spiraling along its length
• inner hair cells – single row of about 3500 cells
• provides for hearing
• outer hair cells – three rows of about 20,000 cells
• adjusts response of cochlea to different frequencies
• increases precision