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In this lecture, I'm going to describe the
histological structures in the ear. At the
end of the lecture, I would like you to understand
that there are functional divisions and anatomical
divisions of the ear, that there are membranous
and bony labyrinths that play a very important
role in the function of the ear. We're going
to look at various receptors of the ear, in
the inner ear, the hair cells. And they're
very similar except for those in the organ
of Corti, a component of the cochlear duct,
which I'm going to describe as well, and
that you should have a thorough understanding
of because this is the sensory component that
allows us to hear. We're also going to look
at other parts of the ear that help us to
know our position in space and our head movements.
We have in our ear a number of different components,
anatomical components. We have the external
ear and the middle ear that are designed to
receive sound energy, sound waves, and then
to amplify those and create or turn that energy
or those sound waves into mechanical energy.
And then we have receptors in the various
locations in the inner ear that I will describe
that then use that mechanical energy in the
form of vibrations and movement of fluid to
then detect, not only the position of our
head in space and movement of our head, but
also that mechanical energy is converted by
the organ of Corti into energy that allows
us to then hear. And that's all processed
by the central nervous system. So we're going
to look at all those very special receptors
that help us hear and also maintain balance,
equilibrium, and now our position in space.