What is the function of the ear?

Category: medical health ear nose and throat conditions
4.8/5 (169 Views . 32 Votes)
The ear - a magnificent organ. The ear is an advanced and very sensitive organ of the human body. The ear's function is to transmit and transduce sound to the brain through the parts of the ear: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear.



Simply so, what is the structure and function of the ear?

The function of the outer ear is to collect sound waves and guide them to the tympanic membrane. The middle ear is a narrow air-filled cavity in the temporal bone. It is spanned by a chain of three tiny bones—the malleus (hammer), incus (anvil), and stapes (stirrup), collectively called the auditory ossicles.

Beside above, what are the 3 major parts of the ear? The human ear has three main sections, which consist of the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. Sound waves enter your outer ear and travel through your ear canal to the middle ear.

Also Know, what are the parts of an ear?

The parts of the ear include:

  • External or outer ear, consisting of: Pinna or auricle. This is the outside part of the ear.
  • Tympanic membrane (eardrum). The tympanic membrane divides the external ear from the middle ear.
  • Middle ear (tympanic cavity), consisting of: Ossicles.
  • Inner ear, consisting of: Cochlea.

How many bones are in your ear?

Ossicles. The middle ear contains three tiny bones known as the ossicles: malleus, incus, and stapes.

17 Related Question Answers Found

Are ears an organ?

The ear is the organ of hearing and, in mammals, balance. In mammals, the ear is usually described as having three parts—the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear.

What is the medical term for ear?

The medical term for the outer ear is the auricle or pinna.

Where is the inner ear located?

The inner ear is located within the petrous part of the temporal bone. It lies between the middle ear and the internal acoustic meatus, which lie laterally and medially respectively. The inner ear has two main components – the bony labyrinth and membranous labyrinth.

What are the six structures of the inner ear?

  • Human ear.
  • Vestibular system.
  • Vestibulocochlear nerve.
  • Saccule.
  • Semicircular duct.
  • Deiters cell.
  • Cells of Hensen.
  • Spiral ganglion.

Which is the smallest bone in human body?


The stapes is the third bone of the three ossicles in the middle ear. The stapes is a stirrup-shaped bone, and the smallest in the human body. It rests on the oval window, to which it is connected by an annular ligament.

How does hearing occur in the human body?

Sound waves travel into the ear canal until they reach the eardrum. The eardrum passes the vibrations through the middle ear bones or ossicles into the inner ear. The inner ear is shaped like a snail and is also called the cochlea. The brain tells you that you are hearing a sound and what that sound is.

What are the 3 bones of the ear?

Ear bone, also called Auditory Ossicle, any of the three tiny bones in the middle ear of all mammals. These are the malleus, or hammer, the incus, or anvil, and the stapes, or stirrup.

What is the ear called in anatomy?

The outer ear includes: auricle (cartilage covered by skin placed on opposite sides of the head) auditory canal (also called the ear canal) eardrum outer layer (also called the tympanic membrane)

What is the eardrum made of?

The tympanic membrane is made up of a thin connective tissue membrane covered by skin on the outside and mucosa on the internal surface.

Do you have bones in your ear?


The bones in your ear are the three smallest in the body.
You may have learned this one in grade school, but the three bones in your middle ear—the malleus, incus and stapes (aka the hammer, anvil and stirrup)—are the three smallest bones in your body.

How many muscles are in the human ear?

Answer and Explanation: Inside the human ear in the middle ear portion, there are two muscles, the stapedius muscle and tensor tympani muscle, whose main purpose is to

What does the cochlea contain?

The cochlea contains the spiral organ of Corti, which is the receptor organ for hearing. It consists of tiny hair cells that translate the fluid vibration of sounds from its surrounding ducts into electrical impulses that are carried to the brain by sensory nerves.

How do ears work simple?

Here is how the ear works normally:
The sound waves are gathered by the outer ear and sent down the ear canal to the eardrum. The sound waves cause the eardrum to vibrate, which sets the three tiny bones in the middle ear into motion. The motion of the bones causes the fluid in the inner ear or cochlea to move.