inner ear
What are the 2 components of the inner ear?
The cochlea and the vestibular system
What is the job of the inner ear?
It is the site of where mechanical energy is transduced into neural signals
What bone encases the inner ear?
The temporal bone
What is the modiolus?
How many membranes are in the inner ear?
7
What are the fluids within the labyrinth in the inner ear?
How long is the cochlea?
33mm long (from base to apex)
What is the job of hair cells?
They are sensory receptors
How many hair cells does a person have per ear?
12,000
How are stereocilia connected? and what is the function of them?
Through fibers called cross-links. These help control the flow of ions into the hair cell.
What could a temporal fracture of the temporal bone lead to?
profound hearing loss, balance problems, and facial paralysis
What is the bony labyrinth?
The space within the temporal bone that encases the inner ear, cavities that contain fluids, and the membraneous labyrinth.
What is the membraneous labyrinth?
What are the two spaces within the vestibular system?
The endolymph and the perilymph
What are the three spaces within the cochlear duct?
The scala media, the scala vestibuli, and the scala tympani
What is the job of the oval window?
On scala vestibuli, connected to the stapes footplate
What is the function of the round window?
Its on the scala tympani, it bulges out as stapes pushes in/ vice verse
What happens when the membraneous wall of the labyrinth adheres to the wall of the bony labyrinth? (through evolution)
The perilymph outer tube gets divided into two scalae
What is the meeting point of the scala vestibule and the scala tympani?
What cranial nerve pair is associated with the cochlea?
The vestibulocochlear nerve.
What is the job of the Reissners membrane?
Divides scala vestibuli from scala media, single-cell layer
On lateral wall of scala media; the "battery" of the ear
What is the job of the basilar membrane?
divides scala media from scala tympani, undergoes wave motion, very elastic
Sits above the organ of Corti, in contact with tallest OHC stereocilia, fibrous/collagenous
What is the job of the reticular lamina?
Divides organ of Corti from scala media, tight covering