Ear Vocabulary (Ch 17)

Auditory canal

Channel that leads from the pinna to the eardrum

Auditory meatus

Auditory canal

auditory nerve fibers

Carry impulses from the inner ear to the brain (cerebral cortex), compose the vestibulocochlear nerve (cranial nerve VIII)

Auditory tube

Channel between the middle ear and the nasopharynx; Eustachian tube

Auricle

Flap of the ear; the protruding part of the external ear, or pinna

Cerumen

Waxy substance secreted by the external ear; earwax

Cochlea

Snail shell-shaped, spirally wound tube in the inner ear; contains hearing-sensitive receptor cells

Endolymph

Fluid within the labyrinth of the inner ear

Eustachian tube

Auditory tube

Incus

Second ossicle (small bone) of the middle ear (resembles an anvil)

Labyrinth

Maze-like series of canals of the inner ear; includes the cochlea, vestibule and semicircular canals

Malleus

First ossicle of the middle ear (resembles a hammer)

Organ of Corti

Sensitive auditory receptor area found in the cochlea of the inner ear

Ossicle

Small bone of the ear; includes the malleus, incus, and stapes

Oval window

Membrane between the middle ear and the inner ear

Perilymph

Fluid contained in the labyrinth of the inner ear

Pinna

Auricle; flap of the ear

Semicircular canals

Passages in the inner ear associated with maintaining equilibrium

Stapes

Third ossicle of the middle ear (resembles a stirrup)

Tympanic membrane

Membrane between the outer and middle ear; also called the eardrum

Vestibule

Central cavity of the labyrinth connecting the semicircular canals and the cochlea; contains two structures, the saccule and utricle, that help to maintain equilibrium