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These portions of the ear are supplied by the cervical plexus and a small portion by the facial nerve. This explains why vesicles are classically seen on the auricle in herpes infections of the facial nerve (Ramsay Hunt syndrome type II). [1] The auricle's functions are to collect sound and transform it into directional and other information.
The ossicles (also called auditory ossicles) are three irregular bones in the middle ear of humans and other mammals, and are among the smallest bones in the human body. . Although the term "ossicle" literally means "tiny bone" (from Latin ossiculum) and may refer to any small bone throughout the body, it typically refers specifically to the malleus, incus and stapes ("hammer, anvil, and ...
The outer ear is the external portion of the ear and includes the fleshy visible auricle, the ear canal, and the outer layer of the eardrum (also called the tympanic membrane). [2] [3] The auricle consists of the curving outer rim called the helix, the inner curved rim called the antihelix, and opens into the ear canal.
The middle ear is the portion of the ear medial to the eardrum, and distal to the oval window of the cochlea (of the inner ear). The mammalian middle ear contains three ossicles (malleus, incus, and stapes), which transfer the vibrations of the eardrum into waves in the fluid and membranes of the inner ear .
The function of the organ of Corti is to convert sounds into electrical signals that can be transmitted to the brainstem through the auditory nerve. [2] It is the auricle and middle ear that act as mechanical transformers and amplifiers so that the sound waves end up with amplitudes 22 times greater than when they entered the ear.
There are two types of hair cells specific to the auditory system; inner and outer hair cells. Inner hair cells are the mechanoreceptors for hearing: they transduce the vibration of sound into electrical activity in nerve fibers, which is transmitted to the brain. Outer hair cells are a motor structure.
Various clusters of hair cells within the inner ear may instead be responsible; for example, bony fish contain a sensory cluster called the macula neglecta in the utricle that may have this function. Although fish have neither an outer nor a middle ear, sound may still be transmitted to the inner ear through the bones of the skull, or by the ...
The outer ear, external ear, or auris externa is the external part of the ear, which consists of the auricle (also pinna) and the ear canal. [1] It gathers sound energy and focuses it on the eardrum ( tympanic membrane ).