![]() ![]() ![]() The stapes is then attached to the inner ear at the oval window where the sound waves will be transferred to the inner ear. The malleus is attached to the tympanic membrane and articulates with the incus, which articulates with the stapes. These small bones are the malleus, incus, and stapes, which are Latin names that roughly translate to hammer, anvil, and stirrup (Fig. The middle ear consists of a space spanned by three small bones, the ossicles, which amplify the movements of the tympanic membrane. Cerumen also helps prevent bacterial growth, waterproofs the auditory canal and tympanic membrane, and may be a deterrent to small insects. Because cerumen is sticky it can help prevent small particles from finding their way to the tympanic membrane. At the end of the auditory canal (sometimes caused external acoustic meatus) is the tympanic membrane, or ear drum, which vibrates with the movement of air in sound waves.Īlong the length of the auditory canal are ceruminous glands that contribute to the production of cerumen (earwax). ![]() The C-shaped curves of the auricle direct sound waves towards the ear canal, which enters into the skull through the external auditory meatus of the temporal bone. The outwardly visible structure that is often referred to as the ear is more correctly referred to as the outer ear (external ear), or the auricle. The ear is subdivided into 3 major parts: the external ear, middle ear, and internal ear. Hearing is the transduction of sound waves into a neural signal that relies on the structures of the ear. The ear is the organ of both hearing and equilibrium. ![]()
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