Auditory system

In vertebrates, an ear is the organ that enables hearing and (in mammals) body balance using the vestibular system. In humans, the ear is described as having three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear consists of the auricle, the visible outer part, and the ear canal. The middle ear includes the tympanic cavity and the three ossicles. The inner ear sits in the bony labyrinth, and contains structures which are key to several senses: the semicircular canals, which enable balance and eye tracking when moving; the utricle and saccule, which enable balance when stat

thumb|thumbtime=23|Video showing how sounds make their way from the source to the brain|upright=1.35 Hearing, or auditory perception, is the ability to perceive sounds through an organ, such as an ear, by detecting vibrations as periodic changes in the pressure of a surrounding medium. The academic field concerned with hearing is auditory science.

thumb|A 40-watt CO2 laser used in otorhinolaryngology thumb|Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital founded in 1874, in [[London]]

In the anatomy of humans and various other tetrapods, the eardrum, also called the tympanic membrane or myringa, is a thin, cone-shaped membrane that separates the external ear from the middle ear. Its function is to transmit changes in pressure of sound from the air to the ossicles inside the middle ear, and thence to the oval window in the fluid-filled cochlea. The ear thereby converts and amplifies vibration in the air to vibration in cochlear fluid. The malleus bone bridges the gap between the eardrum and the other ossicles.

The malleus, or hammer, is a hammer-shaped small bone or ossicle of the middle ear. It connects with the incus, and is attached to the inner surface of the eardrum. The word is Latin for 'hammer' or 'mallet'. It transmits the sound vibrations from the eardrum to the incus (anvil).

thumb|3D model of cochlea and semicircular canals The cochlea is the part of the inner ear involved in hearing. It is a spiral-shaped cavity in the bony labyrinth, in humans making 2.75 turns around its axis, the modiolus. A core component of the cochlea is the organ of Corti, the sensory organ of hearing, which is distributed along the partition separating the fluid chambers in the coiled tapered tube of the cochlea.

The incus (: incudes) or anvil in the ear is one of three small bones (ossicles) in the middle ear. The incus receives vibrations from the malleus, to which it is connected laterally, and transmits these to the stapes medially. The incus is named for its resemblance to an anvil ().

The stapes or stirrup is a bone in the middle ear of humans and other tetrapods which is involved in the conduction of sound vibrations to the inner ear. This bone is connected to the oval window by its annular ligament, which allows the footplate (or base) to transmit sound energy through the oval window into the inner ear. The stapes is the smallest and lightest bone in the human body, and is so-called because of its resemblance to a stirrup ().

part of the ear that lies between the eardrum and the oval window

innermost part of the vertebrate ear

outboard part of the ear

The ossicles (also called auditory ossicles) are three irregular bones in the middle ear of humans and other mammals, and are among the smallest bones in the human body. Although the term "ossicle" literally means "tiny bone" (from ) and may refer to any small bone throughout the body, it typically refers specifically to the malleus, incus and stapes ("hammer, anvil, and stirrup") of the middle ear.

prosthesis used for severe and profound hearing loss

sensory system used for hearing

alt=Image showing an audiologist testing the hearing of a patient inside a hearing booth and using an audiometer|thumb|upright=1.3|Audiological exam

the outer portion of the ear which includes the auricle and the ear canal and leads to the eardrum

An otolith (, ' ear + , ', a stone), also called otoconium, statolith, or statoconium, is a calcium carbonate structure in the saccule or utricle of the inner ear, specifically in the vestibular system of vertebrates. The saccule and utricle, in turn, together make the otolith organs. These organs are what allows an organism, including humans, to perceive linear acceleration, both horizontally and vertically (gravity). They have been identified in both extinct and extant vertebrates.

type of mechanoreceptor

muscle in the human ear

tube running from the outer ear to the middle ear

auditory nerve cells

conduction of sound to the inner ear through bones other than the ossicles of the middle ear

membrane-covered opening that leads from the middle ear to the vestibule of the inner ear

concave collection of feathers on the face of some birds

region of the brain

model of the neural processing of vision and hearing

nerve carrying auditory information from the inner ear to the brain

opening from the middle ear into the inner ear

tiff structural element within the cochlea of the inner ear which separates two liquid-filled tubes

eustachian tube disorder

system of tubes and chambers in the inner ear

posterior pair of the quadrigeminal bodies which contain centers for auditory function.

A myringotomy is a surgical procedure in which an incision is created in the eardrum (tympanic membrane) to relieve pressure caused by excessive buildup of fluid, or to drain pus from the middle ear. A tympanostomy tube may be inserted through the eardrum to keep the middle ear aerated for a prolonged time and to prevent reaccumulation of fluid. Without the insertion of a tube, the incision usually heals spontaneously within two to three weeks. Depending on the type, the tube is either naturally extruded in 6 to 12 months or removed during a minor procedure.

REDIRECT Thalamus#Anatomy

involuntary contraction of the stapedius muscle in response to high-intensity sounds

space through which sound is transmitted

anatomic element

anatomical structure

membrane in the cochlea in the inner ear

one of the perilymph-filled cavities in the human inner ear

two cranial nerve nuclei of the human brainstem

ear ossicle

Type of supporting cells found within the auditory system

The antihelix (anthelix) is a part of the visible ear; the pinna. The antihelix is a curved prominence of cartilage parallel with and in front of the helix on the pinna.

structures in the brain

collection of brainstem nuclei related to hearing

or medial geniculate body, a subnucleus of the thalamus in the brain

evolutionary event in which bones in the jaw of reptiles were co-opted to form part of the hearing apparatus in mammals

Autophony (also tympanophony) is the unusually loud hearing of a person's own voice.

sound-induced vertigo

external hearing structure in animals

stereocilia in inner ear

branch of audiology that employs techniques from mathematics and computer science to improve clinical treatments and scientific understanding of the auditory system

representation of auditory sensation and perception in the nervous system

A kinocilium is a special type of cilium on the apex of hair cells located in the sensory epithelium of the vertebrate inner ear. Contrasting with stereocilia, which are numerous, there is only one kinocilium on each hair cell. The kinocilium can be identified by its apical position as well as its enlarged tip.

component of the auditory system