Ear: Summary

00:00 So let me just review the structure and function of the ear. The external ear, particularly the tympanic membrane and the bony ossicles, convert sound waves, sound energy into mechanical energy. And that's transmitted to the oval window. And that oval window then sets out vibrations inside the perilymph of the cochlea duct. And in turn, that stimulates the basilar membrane to vibrate and the hair cells are stimulated as well by their interaction with the tectorial membrane. And therefore, we get to perceive sounds. There are also sensory receptors in the crista ampullaris, and the macula utricle and the macula saccules, components of the vestibule and the semicircular canals, and they have special sensory receptors too, hair cells, having a very specialized function, and the kinocilium. And those hair cells, again, are stimulated by movement of endolymph, either moving the cupula in the case of the crista ampullaris in the semicircular canal, or the macula in the utricle and saccules. And those hair cells, when stimulated, give information to the central nervous system about the position of the head and movement of the head. So thank you very much for listening to this lecture. I hope you now know something about the structures within the ear, their histological structure, and the functions of each of those structures do to bring about hearing, and also help us for our balance and position in space.