Ear: Definition, Anatomy, and Examples

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What is Ear?

The external ear is the organ of hearing. The external ear, which comprises the pinna or auricle and meatus or external aperture; the middle ear, drum, or tympanum; and the internal ear, or labyrinth, are the three components of the hearing organ in humans and higher animals.

The middle ear is a chamber linked to the throat by the eustachian tube, divided from the external ear opening by the tympanic membrane, and having a chain of three tiny bones called malleus, incus, and stapes that connect this membrane to the internal ear.

Ear, Ear Anatomy, Ear Structure, Ear Function,1

The membranous labyrinth, a complex system of sacs and tubes filled with a fluid (the endolymph) and trapped in a hole in the periotic bone called the bony labyrinth, is an integral component of the internal ear where the fibres of the auditory nerve terminate.

The membranous labyrinth does not entirely fill the bony labyrinth, but rather hangs in there in a fluid state (the perilymph). The vestibule is the centre chamber of the bone labyrinth, into which three semi-circular canals and the cochlea canal (spirally coiled in animals) open. The vestibular component of the membrane labyrinth is made up of two sacs, the utriculus and sac culus, which are linked by a thin tube.

Three membranous semi-circular canals flow into the former, while the latter is connected to a membranous tube in the cochlea that contains the organ of corti. The sonorous vibrations of the air are concentrated upon the tympanic membrane by the external ear and set it vibrating; the chain of bones in the middle ear transmits these vibrations to the internal ear, where they cause certain delicate structures in the organ of corti and other parts of the membranous labyrinth to stimulate the auditory nerve fibres to transmit sonorous imprints.

Ear Function

The sense of hearing; sound perception; the ability to distinguish between distinct tones; example, a good ear for music; singular only. To thy ear, not everyone is ungrateful. 

Anything that resembles an animal’s ear in shape or position; any protrusion or projection on an item, generally for support or attachment; a lug; a handle; as, the ears of a tub, a pan, or a dish. A boat’s ears are the outer kneepieces at the bow.

Acroterium is the same thing. The same goes with Crossette. The honour of being heard; favour; attention. Dionysius… would not listen to his argument. (Bacon) Please give me your ears, friends, Romans, and countrymen. (Shak) in close proximity to the ears; nearby. In a tight competition, by the ears; as, to set by the ears; to fall together by the ears; to be by the ears.

In dogs, a button ear is an ear that falls forward and fully conceals the interior. The tiny finger is the ear finger. The ear of Dionysius is a flexible tube ear trumpet named after the Sicilian ruler who devised a device to overhear the inmates in his prisons.

Ear Anatomy

Ear sand is a basic auditory apparatus found in many worms, molluscs, and other animals. It’s made up of a tiny sac filled with fluid and one or more solid concretions called otocysts.

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An ear that folds backwards and exposes part of the interior in dogs is known as a rose ear. as advice or one giving advice, to pay attention to, listen to, and heed Please listen to my music. To have one’s ear, to be favourably listened to. Deeply buried up to the ears; almost overwhelmed; as, to be in difficulties up to one’s ears.

Hearing and balance are sensed by this organ. The external ear’s externally apparent cartilaginous structure. A sensory organ found in animals that can control balance and detect noises in the environment.

Ear Citations
  • Anatomy of the ear. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract . 2004 Mar;34(2):379-95.
  • Development and Integration of the Ear. Curr Top Dev Biol . 2015;115:213-32.
  • Figures are created with BioRender.com
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