ear anatomy Flashcards
what is the auricle
The pinna, also called the auricle, is made up of cartilage that gives our ears their various shapes and sizes, and it also has a fleshy bit at the bottom- called the ear lobe, or lobule.
what does the pinna do
The pinna directs sound waves towards the opening of the ear canal.
what is the external acoustic meatus and what does it do
The ear canal, or the external acoustic meatus, is a short, curved tube that burrows through the temporal bone for about 1 inch - or 2 and a half centimeters - and ends at the tympanic membrane.
what is cerumen and what does it do
sticky, yellow-ish, earwax.
Cerumen helps prevents foreign objects or tiny insects from getting in and damaging the tympanic membrane.
what secretes ear wax
the ear canal is covered by skin, along with hair follicles and ceruminous glands - which secrete cerumen
what is the correct term for the ear-drum?
The tympanic membrane is also called the eardrum,
what cavities does the tympanic membrane divide
the external ear from the middle ear
what is the function of the tympanic membrane
When sound waves reach the eardrum, it vibrates and transmits those vibrations to the tiny bones in the middle ear.
what is the middle ear
an air-filled cavity inside the temporal bone, shaped like tiny chamber with 4 walls, a floor and a roof.
what forms the lateral wall of the middle ear
eardrum/tympanic membrane
what holes are in the medial wall of the middle ear
The internal wall has two windows: an oval window above, and a round window below.
what cavities does the medial wall of the middle ear separate?
separates the middle ear from the inner ear.
where is the mastoid antrum and what does it do
The posterior wall of the middle ear has an opening called the mastoid antrum, and it connects the middle ear with the mastoid cavity within the temporal bone.
what is the Eustachian tube?
also called the nasopharyngeal tube - tube from middle ear to nasopharynx
what are the 3 fx of nasopharyngeal tube?
-equalizing pressure across the tympanic membrane
-protecting the middle ear from reflux of fluids going up from the nasopharynx,
-clearing out middle ear secretions.
what is the roof of the middle ear called?
tegmen tympani
what is the roof of the middle ear called?
tegmen tympani/tegmental wall/
epitympanic recess is a dome shaped cavity above the ossicles
what forms the floor of the middle ear?
the floor of the middle ear is a thin layer of bone that sits right above our friendly basement neighbor - the jugular vein.
how is sound transmitted through the middle ear?
“handle” of the malleus rests on the eardrum
when the eardrum vibrates, the vibrations are transmitted from the malleus to the incus, then to the stapes, and finally to the oval window, which transfers the vibrations over to the inner ear.
what fluid fills the bony labyrinth
perilymph
what fluid fills the membranous labyrinth
endolymph