Ear Parts And Their Function

Front 1

anvil (incus)

Back 1

a tiny bone that passes vibrations from the hammer to the stirrup.

Front 2

cochlea

Back 2

a spiral-shaped, fluid-filled inner ear structure; it is lined with cilia (tiny hairs) that move when vibrated and cause a nerve impulse to form.

Front 3

Eustachian tube

Back 3

a tube that connects the middle ear to the back of the nose; it equalizes the pressure between the middle ear and the air outside.

Front 4

hammer (malleus)

Back 4

a tiny bone that passes vibrations from the eardrum to the anvil.

Front 5

nerves

Back 5

these carry electro-chemical signals from the inner ear (the cochlea) to the brain.

Front 6

outer ear canal

Back 6

the tube through which sound travels to the eardrum.

Front 7

pinna (auricle)

Back 7

the visible part of the outer ear. It collects sound and directs it into the outer ear canal.

Front 8

semicircular canals

Back 8

three loops of fluid-filled tubes that are attached to the cochlea in the inner ear. They help us maintain our sense of balance.

Front 9

stirrup (stapes)

Back 9

a tiny, U-shaped bone that passes vibrations from the stirrup to the cochlea. Smallest bone in the human body.

Front 10

order of functions

Back 10

sound collected by pinna and directed through outer ear canal, making the eardrum vibrate and then causing the hammer, the anvil and the stirrup vibrate. Vibration transfered to cochlea, whose special hairs trigger the nerve signal sent to the brain.

Front 11

eardrum (tympanic membrane)

Back 11

a thin membrane that vibrates when sound waves reach it.