Senses + Ear Anatomy — 41–60

Olfaction

The sense of smell (root osm/o means "smell").

Proprioception

The awareness of posture, movement, and changes in equilibrium; receptors are located in muscles, tendons, and joints.

Sensory receptor

A sensory nerve ending or a specialized structure associated with a sensory nerve that responds to a stimulus.

Tactile

Pertaining to the sense of touch.

Vision

The sense by which the shape, size, and color of objects are perceived by means of the light they give off.

Auditory tube

The tube that connects the middle ear with the nasopharynx and serves to equalize pressure between the outer and middle ear (root: salping/o); pharyngotympanic tube; originally called the eustachian (u-STA-shen) tube.

Cerumen

The brownish, wax-like secretion formed in the external ear canal to protect the ear and prevent infection (adjective: ceruminous [seh-RU-mih-nus]).

Cochlea

The coiled portion of the inner ear that contains the receptors for hearing (root: cochle/o).

External auditory canal

Tube that extends from the pinna of the ear to the tympanic membrane; external auditory meatus.

Incus

The middle ossicle of the ear.

Labyrinth

The inner ear, named for its complex structure, which resembles a maze.

Malleus

The ossicle of the middle ear that is in contact with the tympanic membrane and the incus.

Ossicles

The small bones of the middle ear; the malleus, incus, and stapes.

Pinna

The projecting part of the outer ear; auricle (AW-ri-kl).

Semicircular canals

The three curved channels of the inner ear that hold receptors for equilibrium.

Spiral organ

The hearing receptor, which is located in the cochlea of the inner ear; organ of Corti (KOR-te).

Stapes

The ossicle that is in contact with the inner ear (roots: staped/o, stapedi/o).

Tympanic membrane

The membrane between the external auditory canal and the middle ear (tympanic cavity); the eardrum; it serves to transmit sound waves to the ossicles of the middle ear (roots: myring/o, tympan/o).

Vestibular apparatus

The portion of the inner ear that is concerned with the sense of equilibrium; it consists of the vestibule and the semicircular canals (root: vestibul/o).