What is the inner ear? What is the function of the inner ear?

The complex and delicate structure of the inner ear, also known as labyrinth, is composed of bony labyrinths and membranous labyrinths, located in the petrous part of the temporal bone, and contains the sensory terminals of the auditory and balance systems. The bone labyrinth and the membranous labyrinth are similar in shape, and the membranous labyrinth is located within the bone labyrinth. The membranous labyrinth contains endolymph, and the membranous labyrinth and the bony labyrinth are filled with exolymph, and the endolymph is not connected to each other.

The inner ear works in synergy with the auditory nerve to transmit sound signals to the auditory center of the brain.

The inner ear consists of three parts: vestibule, semicircular canal and cochlea, which is composed of curved ducts with complex structures, so it is also called labyrinth. The labyrinth is filled with lymph, and the vestibular and semicircular canals are where the sensory receptors are located and are related to the balance of the body.

The structure of the inner ear is very complex and highly precise, especially in the inner ear, the spiral apparatus is a key part of the auditory system, which works synergistically with the auditory nerve to transmit sound data signals to the auditory system nerve center of the human brain.

The ear canal is not like the ossicular chain and can be extracted independently. It has a series of tubing and cavities in it. This tubing and cavity are filled with two kinds of liquids:

Outer and inner tissue fluids. The inner and outer tissue fluids are separated by a membrane. The ear canal is divided into three parts:

Semicircular canals, vestibular function, and inner ear.

Inner ear function.

1) Maintain the balance of the body. Receptors (2) process sound after receiving and analyzing—that is, the sound is converted into nerve impulses, transmitting sound information, and then transmitting the information from the back of the cochlea to the auditory center of the cerebral cortex (auditory nerve).

The inner ear is located between the tympanic chamber and the floor of the inner auditory canal and consists of a bony labyrinth and a membranous labyrinth. The bone labyrinth is surrounded by dense bone and is a tortuous and irregular bony tunnel located in the petrous part of the temporal bone. A membranous labyrinth is a closed membranous sac enclosed within a bony labyrinth.

The membranous labyrinth is filled with endolymphtic fluid, and the cavity between the bone labyrinth and the membranous labyrinth is filled with external lymph, and the internal and external lymphatic fluid are not connected to each other, which has the effect of nourishing the inner ear and transmitting sound waves. Functions: (1) Maintain the balance of the body.

2) Post-acceptance analysis and processing of sound - that is, the sound is transformed into nerve impulses, which transmit sound information, and then transmit the information from the back of the cochlea to the auditory center of the cerebral cortex (auditory nerve).

Composed of the pinna and the external auditory canal, it acts as a resonator. Improves the human ear's perception of 2-4 kHz by about 15-20dB Middle ear: Consists of the eardrum and three ossicles.

Inner ear: Consists of three semicircular canals and the cochlea The cochlea is a frequency-selective organ. High-frequency sounds excite nerve endings close to the oval window; Nerve endings are stimulated by mid-frequency sounds, and nerve endings at the end are excited by low-frequency sounds.

The audible frequency range of the human ear is 20Hz-20kHz. There are generally three subjective perceptions of sound in the human ear: pitch, timbre, and loudness.

Loudness is mainly related to the vibration amplitude of the sound, and pitch is mainly related to the vibration frequency of the sound; Timbre is mainly related to the vibration spectrum of sound Loudness curve: When the human ear hears pure tones of different frequencies, all the sound pressures with the same volume sense are represented by a curve, which is the isophonic curve.

Hello, the ear is divided into the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear, the inner ear is mainly composed of the cochlea and the labyrinth, which is the main organ of hearing and positional sense.

The internal acoustic meatus is located in the middle of the posterior petrous part of the temporal bone, from the inner ear door to the bottom of the inner auditory canal, about 10 mm long, and has vestibulocochlear nerves, facial nerves, and vagus nerves passing through. The bottom of the inner auditory canal adjoins the medial wall of the labyrinth, and there is a transverse bony crest, called the transverse crest, which separates the floor of the inner auditory canal into two parts: the upper and the lower. There is a circular foramen in the anterior part of the upper part, through which the facial nerve passes; The posterior part of the upper part is the supravestibular area, through which the ampullary nerve of the utricle passes.

The anterior part of the lower part has a spiral foramen row, arranged in a spiral shape, through which the cochlear nerve passes; The posterior part of the lower part is the subvestibular area, through which the balloon nerve passes, and there is a single foramen posterior to this area, allowing the ampullary nerve to pass through.

The structure of the inner ear is very complex and delicate, especially the spiral organ in the cochlea, which is the main part of hearing, which works in synergy with the auditory nerve to transmit sound signals to the auditory center of the brain.

The inner ear is not like the ossicular chain and can be separated separately. It has a series of pipes and cavities inside. These pipes and cavities are filled with two kinds of liquids:

Perilymph and endolympha. The internal and perilymphatic fluid is separated by a membrane. The inner ear is divided into three parts:

Semicircular canals, vestibular and cochlea.

The semicircular canals maintain the balance of the human body, are responsible for rotational movements, and do not have the function of hearing. However, since the lymphatic fluid is continuous in the inner ear, balance problems such as dizziness and vomiting that accompany hearing loss are all related to it.

The vestibule is small and irregularly shaped, behind the stapesal floor within the oval window. As the name suggests, the vestibule is where the semicircular canals, the stapes floor, and the cochlea meet. They are all filled with lymphatic fluid, and inside they both contain the sensory terminal branch of the vestibular nerve, which is a branch of the auditory nerve.

The cochlea, as the name suggests, coils like a snail. The floor of the stapes moves in the oval window, vibrating the perilymphatic fluid of the vestibule. When the stapes floor pushes the lymph inward, the final flow of the lymph is the oval window.

We all know that the structure of the inner ear is very complex and delicate, especially the spiral in the cochlea. The spiral is made up of a microvascular plexus. The vascular plexus secretes several lymphatic fluids, which is the main chemical component of endolymphatic fluid**, and it is necessary to maintain the function of hair cells.

Pillar cells, inner hair cells, outer hair cells, and colloidal operculum, etc., form spiral apertes. Hair cells are auditory cells, which are arranged in an orderly manner by the outer hair cells and the inner hair cells. It is thought that the outer hair cells are more sensitive than the inner hair cells, and the bottom of the hair cells are nerve endings that can generate nerve impulses when triggered.

Nerve impulses are conducted along nerve fibers, and multiple nerve fibers form spiral ganglia, which assemble like cables to form cochlear nerves that transmit electrical --- chemical energy. The vestibular and cochlear nerves eventually merge to form the auditory nerve.

We refer to the pathological changes of the inner ear and auditory nerve caused by various causes as sensorineural hearing loss.

The inner ear includes the membranous labyrinth and the bony labyrinth. The membranous labyrinth includes the semicircular canal, vestibule, cochlear semicircular canal and vestibule, which are collectively called vestibular organs, which play a role in sensing the spatial position and movement state of the proprioception. The cochlea is the organ that senses hearing and connects with the ossicles.

The bone labyrinth, to put it simply, is some crooked passages formed by some bone depressions or protrusions in the head, and the membranous labyrinth is encased in it.