Physiology

ANATOMY OF THE AUDITORY SYSTEM
• Human ear is the organ for hearing and equilibrium of postures.

• Ear co- ordinates the head and eye movements
• The ear is divided into 3 parts
1. The air filled external ear,
2. The middle ear,
3. The fluid filled inner ear .
EXTERNAL EAR
• External ear captures,focuses and filters

sound.
Consists of :
* Auricle or pinna,
* External acoustic meatus or ear canal ,
* Tympanic membrane.
• Its function is to collect and direct the sound
waves to the middle ear.
PINNA (AURICLE)
• The visible part of the ear is called the pinna .
• It is made of a thin cartilage covered by
adherent skin.
• It acts as a funnel to capture sound waves.
• it helps in sound location : identifying the
direction and
distance of the source of a sound .
• Concha - deepest depression , which leads to
the external auditory canal or acoustic meatus.
• lobule – fleshly lower part with no cartilage.
EAR CANAL / AUDITORY CANAL
• External acoustic meatus.
• A curved tube that progresses inward from the floor of cocha and ends
at the tympanic membrane. ( Bony cartilaginous canal)
• The external acoustic meatus consists of the lateral couter cartilaginous
part , referred to as the cartilaginous or membranous external acoustic
meatus , and the medial bony part, called the bony external acoustic
meatus.
• Near the external opening the external auditory canal contains few hairs
and ceruminous glands that produces earwax or cerumen.
• Helps to prevent dust and foreign objects from entering the ear.
TYMPANIC MEMBRANE/ EAR DRUM
• Tympanic membrane is also known as myringa.
• It is an extremely thin cone shaped semi transparent membrane.
• Tympanic membrane separates the external ear from the middle ear.
• It is Highly vascularised and the innervated sensory nerve fibres make it accutely sensitive to
pain.
• functions – transmits and amplify sound from the air to the ossicles inside the middle ear .
• also Convert sound waves into pressure waves in the inner ear.
MIDDLE EAR
• Middle ear is small air filled cavity in
temporal bone
• Located in between the external ear and
middle ear.
• The structures of middle ear are :
• auditory ossicles,
• Oval window,
• Eustachian tube.
AUDITORY OSSICLES
• Middle ear consists of three tiny bones called ear ossicles or auditory ossicles.
• These are the smallest three bones of the body . Connected by synovial joints .
the malleus,incus,stapes.
• Ear ossicles vibrates in response to the vibration of the ear drum and
provides mechanical link between the eardrum and the inner ear .
THE MALLEUS OR
THE HAMMER
• First bone of the middle ear.

• Hammer shaped
• It is attached to the inner surface of the
tympanic membrane through its handle or
manubrium.
• The primary function of the malleus is the
transmission of sound waves or vibration from
the the eardrum to the incus.
THE INCUS OR THE ANVIL
• The incus is the middle ossicle with an

anvil shape .
• It is located in between the malleus
and the stapes.
• The incus transmits vibration from the
malleus to the stapes.
THE STAPES /
THE STIRRUP
• The third and final bone of the middle ear
.
• It is the smallest and lightest bone of the
human body .
• it resembles a stirrup with a head and a
base.
• The stapes connects to the incus on the
outward side and base or footplate linked
with the oval window.
• The primary function of the stapetis
transmitting sound waves from the incus to
the membrane of inner ear.
OVAL WINDOW
• It is a membrane – covered opening that leads from the middle ear to

the vestibule of the inner ear.
• The oval window is the intersection of the middle ear with the inner and
is the directly contacted by the stapes.
• By the time vibrations reach the oval window ,they have been
amplified over 10 times from what they were when they contacted the
tympanic membrane.
EUSTACHIAN TUBE
• The middle ear is an air filled space.
• It consists of bone and hyaline cartilage.
• Eustachian tube runs from the middle ear to the nasapharynx .
• It is normally closed at pharyngeal end .During swallowing, chewing, yawning.
• It helps in maintaining equal pressure on the two sides of the ear drum, which
is very important to prevent tympanic membrane from bulging.
• Another function of the eustachian tube is to prevent the accumulation of fluid
in the middle ear.
THE INNER EAR
• The inner ear is the innermost part of the ear.

• The inner ear has two main components :
• The bony labyrinth / the auditory receptor apparatus
• The Membranous labyrinth / The vestibular receptor apparatus
THE BONY LABYRINTH
• Consists of a series of bony cavities with the petrous part of the temporal
bone.
• It is composed of the cochlea ,vestibule and three semi circular canals.
• All these structures are lined internally with periosteum and contain a fluid
called perilymph.
VESTIBULE
• The vestibule is the central part of the bony

labyrinth.
• It is separated by the middle ear by the
oval window .
• And communicate anteriorly with the
cochlea and posteriorly with the
semicircular canal.
• Two parts of the membranous labyrinth ;
the sacule and utricle, are located within in
the vestibule.
COCHLEA
• The cochlea houses the cochlear ducts of

the membranous labyrinth – the auditory
part of the inner ear.
• Bony cochlea is spiral tube with two and
three – fourth turns around a central
bone known as modiolus.
• The base of the modiolus is directed
towards the internal acoustic meatus and
supplies blood vessels and nerves to the
cochlea.
• There are two membranes :
• Basilar membrane
• Reissner’s membrane
• That divides the bony cochlea
into three components :
Scala vestibule, Scala
media and Scala tympani.
• Scala vestibule is separated from the Scala media by Reissner’s
membrane.
• Scala tympanic and Scala media are separated by the basilar membrane.
• The Scala media is filled with the fluid endolymph.
• The basilar membrane supports the organ of Corti.
SEMICIRCULAR CANALS
• There are three semi circular canals ; anterior , lateral, and

posterior.
• They contains semi circular ducts , Which are responsible for
balance (along with the utricle and sacule)
• The semicircular canals are arranged right angles to each other.
• They have a swelling at one end ,known as the ampulla ,which
contains a receptor organ known as crista ampullaries.
• The vestibule system consists of receptor cell called hair cells acts
as mechanoreceptors.
MEMBRANOUS LABYRINTH
• It is a series of sacs and tubes inside of bony labyrinth.

• Membranous labyrinth is lined with epithelium.
• It contains endolymph. The level of pottasium ions are high in endolymph.
Pottasium ions generates the auditory signals.
• It consists of the cochlear duct, semicircular ducts (otolith organs) ; the utricle
and the sacule.
• The cochlear duct is situated within the cochlea and is the organ of hearing.
• The semi – circular duct , the sacule and utricle are the organs of balance .
• They are the organs of balance which detects movement or acceleration of
the head in the vertical and horizontal planes respectively.
QUESTIONS
• 1. Explain the anatomy of external Ear .

• 2. Explain the anatomy of the middle Ear.
• 3. Explain the anatomy of the inner Ear.
• 4 . Write about semicircular canals of the ear.
• 5. write about cochlea.
• Describe the anatomy of digestive system along with figures.

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ANATOMY OF THE AUDITORY SYSTEM

• Human ear is the organ for hearing and equilibrium of postures.

• External ear captures,focuses and filters

• Tympanic membrane is also known as myringa.

• It is an extremely thin cone shaped semi transparent membrane.

• First bone of the middle ear.

• The incus is the middle ossicle with an

• It is a membrane – covered opening that leads from the middle ear to

• The inner ear is the innermost part of the ear.

• The vestibule is the central part of the bony

• The cochlea houses the cochlear ducts of

• There are three semi circular canals ; anterior , lateral, and

• It is a series of sacs and tubes inside of bony labyrinth.

• 1. Explain the anatomy of external Ear .

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