Categories: Articles lacking sources from December 2006 | All articles lacking sources | Anatomy stubs This article or section may be confusing for some readers, and should be edited to be clearer or more simplified. ... The auditory system is the sensory system for the sense of hearing. ... It has been suggested that Equilibrioception be merged into this article or section. ... The outer ear is the external portion of the ear and includes the eardrum. ... Juzzah is a loser Boom, Headshot Bergamin and Gerald died The pinna (Latin for feather) is the visible part of the ear that resides outside of the head. ... A left human ear. ... On the pinna, a curved prominence of cartilage, parallel with and in front of the helix, is called the antihelix, also known as the anthelix; this divides above into two crura, between which is a triangular depression, the fossa triangularis. ... In front of the concha, and projecting backward over the meatus, is a small pointed eminence, the tragus, so called from its being generally covered on its under surface with a tuft of hair, resembling a goat’s beard. ... Opposite the tragus, and separated from it by the intertragic notch, is a small tubercle, the antitragus. ... On the ear of humans and many other animals, the earlobe (lobulus auriculæ, sometimes simply lobe or lobule) is the soft lower part of the external ear or pinna. ... The ear canal (external auditory meatus, external acoustic meatus), is a tube running from the outer ear to the middle ear. ... The middle ear is the portion of the ear internal to the eardrum, and external to the oval window of the cochlea. ... The tympanic membrane, colloquially known as the eardrum, is a thin membrane that separates the external ear from the middle ear. ... The ossicles (also called auditory ossicles) are the three smallest bones in the human body. ... The malleus is hammer-shaped small bone or ossicle of the middle ear which connects with the incus and is attached to the inner surface of the eardrum. ... This article refers to a bone in the mammalian ear. ... The stapes or stirrup is the stirrup-shaped small bone or ossicle in the middle ear which attaches the incus to the fenestra ovalis, the oval window which is adjacent to the vestibule of the inner ear. ... The stapedius is the smallest striated muscle in the human body. ... The tensor tympani muscle arises from the auditory tube and inserts onto the handle of the malleus, damping down vibration in the ossicles and so reducing the amplitude of sounds. ... The Eustachian tube (or auditory tube) is a tube that links the pharynx to the middle ear. ... The base of the cartilaginous portion of the Eustachian tube lies directly under the mucous membrane of the nasal part of the pharynx, where it forms an elevation, the torus tubarius or cushion, behind the pharyngeal orifice of the tube. ... The inner ear comprises both: the organ of hearing (the cochlea) and the labyrinth or vestibular apparatus, the organ of balance located in the inner ear that consists of three semicircular canals and the vestibule. ... For more uses of the word labyrinth, see Labyrinth (disambiguation) The labyrinth is a system of fluid passages in the inner ear, including both the cochlea which is part of the auditory system, and the vestibular system which provides the sense of balance. ... The bony labyrinth (osseous labyrinth) consists of three parts: vestibule semicircular canals cochlea These are cavities hollowed out of the substance of the bone, and lined by periosteum; they contain a clear fluid, the perilymph, in which the membranous labyrinth is situated. ... This is a page about the part of the ear. ... The membranous labyrinth is lodged within the bony labyrinth, and has the same general form; it is, however, considerably smaller, and is partly separated from the bony walls by a quantity of fluid, the perilymph. ... The helicotrema is the part of the cochlear labyrinth where the scala tympani and the scala vestibuli meet. ... The round window is one of two membranes that separates the inner ear from the middle ear. ... The cochlea is the auditory branch of the inner ear. ... The spiral ganglion is the group of nerve cells that serve the sense of hearing by sending a representation of sound from the cochlea to the brain. ... The cochlear duct (or scala media) is an endolymph filled cavity inside the cochlea, located in between the scala tympani and the scala vestibuli, separated by the basilar membrane and Reissners membrane (the vestibular membrane) respectively. ... Endolymph is the fluid contained in the membranous labyrinth of the inner ear. ... The upper portion of the spiral ligament contains numerous capillary loops and small blood vessels, and is termed the stria vascularis. ... The organ of Corti is the organ in the inner ear of mammals that contains auditory sensory cells, or hair cells. // Structure and function It has highly specialized structures that respond to fluid-borne vibrations in the cochlea with a shearing vector in the hairs of some cochlear hair cells. ... Scala vestibuli is a perilymph filled cavity inside the cochlea of the inner ear. ... Scala tympani is the name of one of the perilymph filled cavities in the cochlear labyrinth. ... Perilymph is a fluid located within the cochlea (part of the ear) in 2 of its 3 muscles; the scala typmani and scala vestibuli. ... Reissners membrane is a membrane inside the cochlea of the inner ear, it separates scala media from scala vestbuli and together with the basilar membrane it creates a compartment in the cochlea filled with perilymph, which is important for the function of the organ of Corti inside the scala... Cross section of the cochlea. ... Covering the sulcus spiralis internus and the spiral organ of Corti is the tectorial membrane, which is attached to the limbus laminae spiralis close to the inner edge of the vestibular membrane. ... The organ of Corti is the organ in the inner ear of mammals that contains auditory sensory cells, or hair cells. // Structure and function It has highly specialized structures that respond to fluid-borne vibrations in the cochlea with a shearing vector in the hairs of some cochlear hair cells. ... Hair cells are the sensory cells of both the auditory system and the vestibular system in all vertebrates. ... Section through the spiral organ of Corti. ... The basilar crest gives attachment to the outer edge of the basilar membrane; immediately above the crest is a concavity, the sulcus spiralis externus. ... On the upper plate of that part of the lamina which is outside the vestibular membrane, the periosteum is thickened to form the limbus laminæ spiralis, this ends externally in a concavity, the sulcus spiralis internus, which represents, on section, the form of the letter C. Histology at uc. ... It has been suggested that Equilibrioception be merged into this article or section. ... The utricle, larger than the saccule, is of an oblong form, compressed transversely, and occupies the upper and back part of the vestibule, lying in contact with the recessus ellipticus and the part below it. ... Categories: Stub ... From the posterior wall of the saccule a canal, the ductus endolymphaticus, is given off; this duct is joined by the ductus utriculosaccularis, and then passes along the aquaeductus vestibuli and ends in a blind pouch, the endolymphatic sac, on the posterior surface of the petrous portion of the temporal... From the posterior wall of the saccule a canal, the endolymphatic duct, is given off; this duct is joined by the ductus utriculosaccularis, and then passes along the aquaeductus vestibuli and ends in a blind pouch (saccus endolymphaticus) on the posterior surface of the petrous portion of the temporal bone... A kinocilium is a special structure connected to the hair cells of the inner ears cochlea. ... An otolith, or otoconium is a [[[calcium]] carbonate structure in the saccule or utricle of the inner ear (hence the name otolith, or ear-stone). It can be used for age determination, showing rings of different growth summer/winter, like tree rings. ... inner ear illustration showing semicircular canal, hair cells, ampulla, cupula, vestibular nerve, & fluid The semicircular canals are three half-circular, interconnected tubes located inside each ear that are the equivalent of three gyroscopes located in three planes perpendicular (at right angles) to each other. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... The posterior semicircular canal, vertical like the superior, is directed backward, nearly parallel to the posterior surface of the petrous bone; it is the longest of the three canals, measuring from 18 to 22 mm. ... The lateral or horizontal canal (external semicircular canal) is the shortest of the three canals. ... The cupula forms the apex of the cochlea. ... Italic text // ahh addiing sum spiice iin hurr`` For other uses, see Brain (disambiguation). ... The Cochlear nerve (n. ... The vestibulocochlear nerve (also known as the auditory or acoustic nerve) is the eighth of twelve cranial nerves, and is responsible for transmitting sound and equilibrium (balance) information from the inner ear to the brain. ... The cochlear nuclei consist of: (a) the lateral cochlear nucleus, corresponding to the tuberculum acusticum on the dorso-lateral surface of the inferior peduncle; and (b) the ventral or accessory cochlear nucleus, placed between the two divisions of the nerve, on the ventral aspect of the inferior peduncle. ... For the cerebellar structure, see Dentate nucleus. ... The lateral lemniscus is a tract of axons in the brainstem that carries information about sound from the cochlear nucleus to various brainstem nuclei and ultimately the contralateral inferior colliculus of the midbrain. ... The paired inferior colliculi together with the superior colliculi form the eminences of the corpora quadrigemina. ... The medial geniculate nucleus is a nucleus of the thalamus that acts as a relay for auditory information. ... The primary auditory cortex is the region of the brain that is responsible for processing of auditory (sound) information. ...