The anatomy of the ear

Resources: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=21685

title: The anatomy of the ear

Summary:

There are three components to the ear. There's the outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear. They are all responsible for hearing but only the inner ear is responsible for balance. The outer ear is made of the Pinna (ear lobe),and the external auditory canal. They funnel sound waves towards the ear drum allowing it to vibrate. The pinna is also responsible for protecting the ear drum from damage. The middle ear is an air filled space located in the temporal bone of the skull. The inner ear has two functions. The first function is hearing and the second function is balance. They are tubes filled with fluid encased within the temporal bone of the skull. They also contain a set of cell membrane lined tubes. The bony tubes are called the bony labyrinth filled with perilymoh fluid. The bony labyrinth has three sections. The cochlea, which is responsible for hearing.The semicircular canals, which have functions associated with balance. Also, there's the vestibule which connects and contains two more balance and equilibrium related structures.