Ear

Tensor tympani

Protective muscle that prevents damage to inner ear by moving malleus from tympanic membrane

tympanic duct

carries waves down to the round window to relieve pressure. contains perilymph.

vestibular duct

carries waves set up by oval window vibrations. contains perilymph.

Bony labyrinth

cavity within the temporal bone filled with perilymph & containing the membranous labyrinth

External ear

from the environment to the Tympanic membrane; includes pinna and external auditory meatus

Tympanic cavity

middle ear; houses the auditory ossicles; located within the temporal bone

vestibule

middle part of the inner ear in front of the semicircular canals and behind the cochlea that contains the utricle and saccule

Ceruminous glands

modified sweat glands, located in external ear canal, secretes cerumen (earwax)

posterior semicircular canal

Back circular canal off cochlea, up and down.

cupula

A gelatin-like structure containing a tuft of hairlike sensory receptor cells in the semicircular canals.

tectorial membrane

A membrane located above the basilar membrane; serves as a shelf against which the cilia of the auditory hair cells move

crista ampullaris

A specialized receptor located within the semicircular canals that detects head movements

anterior semicircular canal

Front circular canal off cochlea, up and down as in nodding head yes.

Otoliths

Grains of calcium carbonate

lateral semicircular canal

Horizontal circular canal off cochlea, left to right as is shaking head no.

cochlear duct

Membrane tube in cochlea, filled with fluid that vibrates when sound waves are transmitted by the stapes.

Vestibulocochlear Nerve

NVIII; contains the vestibular nerve, which monitors sensations of balance, position, movement and the cochlear nerve, which monitors hearing receptors

Stapedius muscle

Smallest muscle in the body; moves stapes to avoid large sounds from reaching the inner ear

Tympanic membrane

The eardrum. A structure that separates the outer ear from the middle ear and vibrates in response to sound waves.

round window

The membrane that relieves pressure from the vibrating waves in the cochlear fluid.

Nasopharynx

The part of the throat behind the nose

Weber Test

Used to ascertain if a person's deafness is due to conduction disturbance or sensorineural loss. The base of a vibrating tuning fork is placed at the top of the head in the midline. If the person's deafness is due to conduction disturbance in the right ear, the sound from a vibrating tuning fork will be heard louder in the same (right) ear. If the person's deafness is due to sensorineural loss in the right ear, the sound will be louder in the left ear.

Ossicles

bones of the middle ear that carry sound vibrations

cochlea

a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses

Acuity Test

a test for determining a subject's ability to hear a vibrating tuning fork when it is held next to the ear and when it is placed on the mastoid process with diminished hearing acuity through air and somewhat heightened hearing acuity through bone being symptomatic of conduction deafness.

Rinne Test

a test for determining a subject's ability to hear a vibrating tuning fork when it is held next to the ear and when it is placed on the mastoid process with diminished hearing acuity through air and somewhat heightened hearing acuity through bone being symptomatic of conduction deafness.

incus

anvil; middle of the three auditory ossicles of the middle ear

vestibulocochlear nerve

contains the vestibular nerve, which monitors movement and the cochlear nerve, which monitors hearing receptors

Lobule

earlobe

Auditory Tube

either of the paired tubes connecting the middle ears to the nasopharynx

external auditory meatus

external passage for sounds collected from the pinna to the tympanum

malleus

hammer; first of the three auditory ossicles of the middle ear

Sound Localization

knowing direction of sound

utricle

larger of two sacs within the membranous labyrinth of the vestibule in the inner ear

Maculae

location of hair cell clusters in the saccule and utricle; where their cilia contact otoliths consisting of statoconia in a gelatinous matrix

Oval window

membrane at the enterance to the cochlea through which the ossicles transmit vibrations

basilar membrane

membrane supporting the organ of Corti and hair cells in the cochlea

Otitis media

middle ear infection

vestibular membrane

separates the cochlear duct from the scala vestibuli

saccule

smaller of two sacs within the membranous labyrinth of the vestibule in the inner ear (sacculus = small bag)

endolymphatic sac

termination point of endolymphatic duct

Romberg Test

test for inability to maintain body balance when eyes are closed and feet are together, indication of spinal cord disease

Middle ear

the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window

ampulla

the dilated portion of a canal or duct especially of the semicircular canals of the ear

Pinna

the externally visible cartilaginous structure of the external ear

organ of Corti

the hearing organ of the inner ear

Inner ear

the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs

stapes

the stirrup-shaped ossicle that transmits sound from the incus to the cochlea

Otolithic membrane

thick, gelatinous, glycoprotein layer located directly over hair cells of the macula in the saccule and uricle of the internal ear

semicircular canals

three loops of the fluid-filled tubes that are attached to the cochlea; They help us with our sense of balance