The Ears
The ear is one of the body’s many sensory organs. Its main purpose is to detect sounds. But aside from hearing, it plays a big role in a person’s sense of balance and body position. The ear, along with the brain, makes up the auditory system.
The ear is made up of the following:
lThe outer ear. It is composed of:
*Pinna. This is the cartilagenous external ear outside the ear canal. It reflects and attenuates sound waves into the ear canal. The change it makes on the sound provides more information in helping the brain locate the source of the sound.
*Auditory canal. This is the tube connecting the pinna to the middle ear.
lThe middle ear.
*Eardrum. This is a thin membrane that seperates the external and the middle ear. It transmits sound from the air to the ossicles within the middle ear.
*Ossicles. These are the three smallest bones in the body. They are the hammer (malleus), anvil (incus) and stirrups (stapes). They transmit the sounds towards the fluid-filled cochlea. They convert lower-pressure eardrum sound vibrations into higher pressure sound vibrations at the elliptical window.
lThe...