Otology
The ear has 3 parts
Outer Ear
The visible part of the ear: ear lobe and ear canal.
Wax known as cerumen is produced by wax glands in the outer one third of the ear canal.
Middle Ear
The eardrum and the air-filled cavity behind it. It is connected to the back of the nose by the Eustachian tube and contains 3 hearing bones: the malleus (hammer), incus (anvil) and stapes (stirrup).
The stapes, by the way, is the smallest bone in the human body.
Inner Ear
The nerve part of the ear, consisting of the hearing organ (cochlea) and balance organ.
In the spiral shaped cohclea are the inner and outer hair cells which are the delicate nerve ends for hearing. The balance organ (labyrinth) contains nerve sensors for both linear and rotational movement.
Definitions & Conditions
OTITIS EXTERNA: infection of the ear canal.
PINNA: ear lobe
CERUMEN: wax produced in the ear canal.
EXOSTOSIS: small bony growths in canal.
OTALGIA: means “earache” and can be caused by many conditions of the ear itself, but also by conditions elsewhere, such as the throat, teeth, jaw joint and neck
OTITIS MEDIA: middle ear infection.
OSSICLES: 3 little hearing bones.
TYMPANIC MEMBRANE: eardrum, membrane over middle ear, which catches sound waves.
PERFORATION: hole in the tympanic membrane.
EUSTACHIAN TUBE: canal connecting the middle ear with the upper part of the throat.
CONDUCTIVE DEAFNESS: a type of hearing loss caused by perforations, otitis media or ossicle defects which can often be corrected with surgery.
COCHLEA: hearing organ which houses the hair cells, it has the shape of a shell.
MACULE, SACCULE & SEMICIRCULAR CANALS: three parts of the balance organ.
TINNITUS: sound heard in the ear or head, it can be a ringing, humming or throbbing sound.
SENSORY-NEURAL HEARING LOSS: hearing loss caused by damage or defects of the inner ear or hearing nerve, usually permanent in nature.
VERTIGO: a sensation of spinning or moving of the head or surroundings. It can have numerous causes and can originate in the balance organ, balance nerve or brain.
