Auditory System Flashcards
CNVIII carries two special sensory components- whatare these?
Cochlear division and the vestibular devision.
What is the external ear?
Part attached to lateral aspect of the head , auricle & the canal leading inwards
What is the middle ear?
A cavity in the petrous part of the temporal bone bounded laterally, and separated from the external canal by the tympanic membrane and connected internally to the pharynx by a narrow tube
What is the inner ear?
Series of cavities within the petrous part of the temporal bone between the middle ear laterally & the internal acoustic meatus medially
What is the tympanic membrane- name the parts!
• Translucent membrane
- Umbo – central depression
- Attached to manubrium (handle) of malleus
- Anterior & posterior mallear folds
- Cone of light in anteroinferior quadrant
What is the innervation of the tympanic membrane?
- note external surface and internal surface are different
- External surface = trigeminal (V3) nerve
* Internal surface = Glossopharyngeal (IX) nerve
Describe the MIDDLE EAR TYMPANIC CAVITY
- Air filled compartment
- Mucous membrane lined
Basic function is to transmit vibrations of the tympanic membrane across the cavity of the middle ear to the internal ear. It accomplishes this through 3 interconnected but moveable bones that bridge the space between the tympanic membrane & the internal ear.
Ossicles –MALLEUS, INCUS AND STAPES (smallest bones in our body)
• The footplate of stapes is attached to the internal ear at the OVAL WINDOW
• Amplification of sound → greater force per unit area at the oval window than at tympanic cavity
The middle ear connects with two things:
- Auditory or eustachian tube – equalize pressure between middle ear & posterior pharynx
a. Normally a closed tube, swallowing opens it up - Mastoid cells (located more posteriorly)
What are the muscles of the Middle Ear/Tympanic Cavity
- what are the two things innervated by?
TENSOR TYMPANI
o Attached to the handle of malleus
o Trigeminal (V3) nerve
o Contraction pulls the handle medially → tenses the tympanic membrane, reducing the force of the vibrations in response to loud noises
STAPEDIUS MUSCLE
o Attached to the neck of stapes
o Facial (VII) nerve
o Contracts in response to loud noises – pulls the stapes posteriorly & prevents excessive oscillation
What is the funciton of these muscles?
• These muscles decrease the transmission of vibrations through the ossicles – protective function
o i.e. if you are talking in a noisy environment, they modify the vibration so you aren’t exposed to as much background noise
What is on the posterior wall of the tympanic cavity
prominence of : lateral semicircular canal & facial canal
Tensor tympani muscle
Promontory of Glossopharyngeal nerve -> lesser petrosal nerve, tympanic branch of glossopharyngela nerve
Oval window
Round window
Describe the course of the chorda tympani in the middle ear
Course in middle ear
• Branch from facial (VII) nerve as it runs in the facial canal (before CN VII exits skull at stylomastoid foramen)
Both CN VII & VIII run through the internal acoustic meatus
- Close to the tympanic membrane
- Exits at base of skull to inferotemporal fossa
Describe the composition of the chorda tympani?
Composition of chorda tympani
• Taste fibers to anterior 2/3 of tongue
o Joins the lingual nerve to innervate taste anterior 2/3 of tongue
Preganglionic parasympathetic to submandibular ganglion
o To submandibular & sublingual salivary glands
What is in the INNER EAR
Fluid filled compartment. Consists of a series of bony cavities (the bony labyrinth) and membranous ducts and sacs (the membranous labyrinth) within these cavities. All these structures are in the petrous part of the temporal bone with the middle ear laterally and the internal acoustic meatus medially.
• Perilymph & endolymph are important for auditory transduction & survival of auditory hair cells
Describe the Bony Labrynth,
- where is it located?
what kind of lymph does it contain?
- In petrous part of temporal bone
- Irregularly shaped space inside the bone suspended in fluid
- The vestibule (which contains the bony window in its lateral wall) is the central part of the bony labyrinth
- Contains perilymph
o Low in K+, high in Na+ (composition similar to extracellular fluid)