GROUP 4

THE ANATOMY OF AUDITORY SYSTEM

The auditory system is the sensory system that allows for hearing. The human auditory system illustrated
at right is an extremely intricate and brilliantly designed system that offers a testament to God's infinite
knowledge of design. The auditory system is comprised of three components; the outer, middle, and inner
ear, all of which work together to transfer sounds from the environment to the brain. The outer ear is the
portion you can see and the middle ear is between the inner and outer ear. The auditory system helps us
recognize dangers that we can't see and communicate with each other more easily.
THE OUTER EAR
The outer ear includes the portion of the ear that we seethe pinna/auricle and the ear canal.
Pinna
The pinna or auricle is a concave cartilaginous structure, which collects and directs sound waves traveling
in air into the ear canal or external auditory meatus.
Ear Canal
The ear canal or external auditory meatus is approximately 1.25 inches long and .25 inch in diameter. The
inner two-thirds of the ear canal is imbedded in the temporal bone. The outer one-third of the canal is
cartilage. Although the shape of each ear canal varies, in general the canal forms an elongated "s" shape
curve. The ear canal directs airborne sound waves towards the tympanic membrane (eardrum). The ear
canal resonates sound waves and increases the loudness of the tones in the 3000-4000 Hz range.

The ear canal maintains the proper conditions of temperature and humidity necessary to preserve the
elasticity of the tympanic membrane. Glands, which produce cerumen (earwax) and tiny hairs in the ear
canal, provide added protection against insects and foreign particles from damaging the tympanic
membrane.

MIDDLE EAR
The middle ear is composed of the tympanic membrane and the cavity, which houses the ossicular chain.
Tympanic Membrane
The tympanic membrane or eardrum serves as a divider between the outer ear and the middle ear
structures. It is gray-pink in color when healthy and consists of three very thin layers of living tissue.
The eardrum is very sensitive to sound waves and vibrates back and forth as the sound waves strike it.
The eardrum transmits the airborne vibrations from the outer to the middle ear and also assists in the
protection of the delicate structures of the middle ear cavity and inner ear.
Middle Ear Cavity
The middle ear cavity is located in the mastoid process of the temporal bone. The middle ear cavity
extends from the tympanic membrane to the inner ear. It is approximately two cubic centimeters in
volume and is lined with mucous membrane. The middle ear cavity is actually an extension of the
nasopharynx via the eustachian tube.
Eustachian Tube
The eustachian tube acts as an air pressure equalizer and ventilates the middle ear. Normally the tube is
closed but opens while chewing or swallowing. When the eustachian tube opens, the air pressure between
the outer and middle ear is equalized. The transmission of sound through the eardrum is optimal when the
air pressure is equalized between the outer and middle ear. When the air pressure between the outer and
middle ear is unequal, the eardrum is forced outward or inward causing discomfort and the ability of the
eardrum to transmit sound is reduced.
Ossicular Chain
The middle ear is connected and transmits sound to the inner ear via the ossicular chain. The ossicular
chain amplifies a signal approximately 25 decibels as it transfers signals from the tympanic membrane to
the inner ear.
The ossicular chain consists of the three smallest bones in the body: the malleus, incus, and stapes.
Malleus
The malleus is attached to the ear drum. When the ear drum vibrates, so does the malleus. The Malleus is
made up of two parts: the handle and the head. They were given this name because of their resemblance
to the parts of a hammer of the same name. The handle is attached to the tympanic membrane which is
how vibrations are transferred. The head of the malleus is attached to the incus and held in place by three
ligaments to the epitympanum.

Incus
Attached to the malleus by a small synovial joint, the incus serves the purpose of connecting the malleus
and the stapes so that they may properly perform their function.
Stapes
Attached to the incus via synovial joint, it is the smallest bone in the entire body at about 3 millimeters
long. The base of the stapes lies inside the oval window. It is not rigidly attached to a fixed point to allow
it to vibrate and transfer vibrations into the inner ear.

THE INNER EAR

The inner ear is composed of the sensory organ for hearingthe cochlea, as well as for balancethe
vestibular system. The systems are separate, yet both are encased in the same bony capsule and share the
same fluid systems.
Vestibular or Balance System
The balance part of the ear is referred to as the vestibular apparatus. It is composed, in part, of three
semicircular canals located within the inner ear. The vestibular system helps to maintain balance,
regardless of head position or gravity, in conjunction with eye movement and somatosensory input. The
semicircular canals are innervated by the VIIIth cranial nerve.
Cochlea
The hearing part of the inner ear is the cochlea. The cochlea is spiral-shaped, similar to the shape of a
snail.
The cochlea is composed of three fluid-filled chambers that extend the length of the structure. The two
outer chambers are filled with a fluid called perilymph. Perilymph acts as a cushioning agent for the
delicate structures that occupy the center chamber. It is important to note that perilymph is connected to
the cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the brain and the spinal column. The third fluid filled chamber is the
center chamber, called the cochlear duct. The cochlear duct secretes a fluid called endolymph, which fills
this chamber.
The cochlear duct contains the Basilar membrane upon which lies the Organ of Corti. The Organ of Corti
is a sensory organ essential to hearing. It consists of approximately 30,000 finger-like projections of cilia
that are arranged in rows. These cilia are referred to as hair cells. Each hair cell is connected to a nerve
fiber that relays various impulses to the cochlear branch of the VIIIth cranial nerve or auditory nerve. The
"pitch" of the impulse relayed is dependent upon which areas of the basilar membrane, and hence, which
portions of the Organ of Corti are stimulated. The apical portion of the basilar membrane (the most curled
area of the cochlea) transfers lower frequency impulses. The basal end relays higher frequency impulses.
The VIII cranial nerve (VIII C.N.) or auditory C.N. carries the impulses generated from the Organ of
Corti to the brainstem. From the brainstem, nerve pathways extend through numerous nuclei to the
cerebral cortex in the temporal lobes of the brain. It is in the temporal lobes of the brain that meaning is
associated with the various patterns of nerve impulses.

Organ of Corti
The organ of Corti forms a ribbon of sensory epithelium which runs lengthwise down the entire cochlea.
The hair cells of the organ of Corti transform the fluid waves into nerve signals. The journey of a billion
nerves begins with this first step; from here further processing leads to a series of auditory reactions and
sensations.

Transition from ear to auditory nervous system

Hair cells
Hair cells are columnar cells, each with a bundle of 100-200 specialized cilia at the top, for which they
are named. These cilia are the mechanosensors for hearing. The shorter ones are called stereocilia, and the
longest one at the end of each haircell bundle kinocilium. The location of the kinocilium determines the
on-direction, i.e. the direction of deflection inducing the maximum hair cell excitation. Lightly resting
atop the longest cilia is the tectorial membrane, which moves back and forth with each cycle of sound,
tilting the cilia and allowing electric current into the hair cell.
The function of hair cells is not fully established up to now. Currently, the knowledge of the function of
hair cells allows to replace the cells by cochlear implants in case of hearing lost. However, more research
into the function of the hair cells may someday even make it possible for the cells to be repaired. The
current model is that cilia are attached to one another by tip links, structures which link the tips of one
cilium to another. Stretching and compressing, the tip links then open an ion channel and produce the
receptor potential in the hair cell. Note that a deflection of 100 nanometers already elicits 90% of the full
receptor potential.
Neurons
The nervous system distinguishes between nerve fibres carrying information towards the central nervous
system and nerve fibres carrying the information awayfrom it:

Afferent neurons (also sensory or receptor neurons) carry nerve impulses from receptors (sense
organs) towards the central nervous system

Efferent neurons (also motor or effector neurons) carry nerve impulses away from the central
nervous system to effectors such as muscles or glands (and also the ciliated cells of the inner ear)

Afferent neurons innervate cochlear inner hair cells, at synapses where the neurotransmitter glutamate
communicates signals from the hair cells to the dendrites of the primary auditory neurons.
There are far fewer inner hair cells in the cochlea than afferent nerve fibers. The neural dendrites belong
to neurons of the auditory nerve, which in turn joins the vestibular nerve to form the vestibulocochlear
nerve, or cranial nerve number VIII'

Efferent projections from the brain to the cochlea also play a role in the perception of sound. Efferent
synapses occur on outer hair cells and on afferent (towards the brain) dendrites under inner hair cells.
Auditory nervous system
The sound information, now re-encoded in form of electric signals, travels down the auditory nerve
(acoustic nerve, vestibulocochlear nerve, VIIIth cranial nerve), through intermediate stations such as the
cochlear nuclei and superior olivary complex of the brainstem and the inferior colliculus of the midbrain,
being further processed at each waypoint. The information eventually reaches the thalamus, and from
there it is relayed to the cortex. In the human brain, the primary auditory cortex is located in the temporal
lobe.
Primary auditory cortex
The primary auditory cortex is the first region of cerebral cortex to receive auditory input.
Perception of sound is associated with the right posterior superior temporal gyrus (STG). The superior
temporal gyrus contains several important structures of the brain, including Brodmann areas 41 and 42,
marking the location of the primary auditory cortex, the cortical region responsible for the sensation of
basic characteristics of sound such as pitch and rhythm.
The auditory association area is located within the temporal lobe of the brain, in an area called the
Wernicke's area, or area 22. This area, near the lateral cerebral sulcus, is an important region for the
processing of acoustic signals so that they can be distinguished as speech, music, or noise.

THE PHYSIOLOGY OF HEARING

The process of hearing begins with the occurrence of a sound. Sound is initiated when an event moves
and causes a motion or vibration in air. When this air movement stimulates the ear, a sound is heard.
In the human ear, a sound wave is transmitted through four separate mediums along the auditory system
before a sound is perceived: in the outer earair, in the middle ear mechanical, in the inner ear liquid
and to the brainneural.
Sound Transmission through the Outer Ear
Air transmitted sound waves are directed toward the delicate hearing mechanisms with the help of the
outer ear, first by the pinna, which gently funnels sound waves into the ear canal, then by the ear canal.
Sound Transmission through the Middle Ear
When air movement strikes the tympanic membrane, the tympanic membrane or eardrum moves. At this
point, the energy generated through a sound wave is transferred from a medium of air to that which is
solid in the middle ear. The ossicular chain of the middle ear connects to the eardrum via the malleus, so
that any motion of the eardrum sets the three little bones of the ossicular chain into motion.

Sound Transmission through the Inner Ear

The ossicular chain transfers energy from a solid medium to the fluid medium of the inner ear via the
stapes. The stapes is attached to the oval window. Movement of the oval window creates motion in the
cochlear fluid and along the Basilar membrane. Motion along the basilar membrane excites frequency
specific areas of the Organ of Corti, which in turn stimulates a series of nerve endings.
Sound Transmission to the Brain
With the initiation of the nerve impulses, another change in medium occurs: from fluid to neural. Nerve
impulses are relayed through the VIII C.N., through various nuclei along the auditory pathway to areas to
the brain. It is the brain that interprets the neural impulses and creates a thought, picture, or other
recognized symbol.

The malleus /mlis/ or hammer is a hammer-shaped small bone or ossicle of the middle
ear which connects with the incus and is attached to the inner surface of the eardrum. The word is
Latin for hammer or mallet. It transmits the sound vibrations from the eardrum to the incus.

The incus /ks/ is a bone in the middle ear. The anvil-shaped small bone is one of
three ossicles in the middle ear. The incus receives vibrations from the malleus, to which it
is connected laterally, and transmits these to the stapes, medially. The incus is so-called
because of its resemblance to an anvil (Latin: Incus).
An anvil is a basic tool, a block with a hard surface on which another object is struck. The
block is as massive as is practical, because the higher theinertia of the anvil, the more
efficiently it causes the energy of the striking tool to be transferred to the work piece. On a
quality anvil the smith's hammer should rebound with almost as much energy as the smith
put into the downward stroke, making the smith's job easier. In most cases the anvil is used
as a forging tool. Before the advent of modern welding technology, it was a primary tool of
metal workers
The stapes /stepiz/ is a bone in the middle ear of humans and other mammals which is
involved in the conduction of sound vibrations to the inner ear. The stirrup-shaped small
bone is one of three ossicles in the middle ear. The stapes receives vibrations from
the incus, to which it is connected laterally, and transmits these to the oval window,
medially. The stapes is the smallest and lightest named bone in the human body, and is socalled because of its resemblance to a stirrup (Latin: Stapes).
A stirrup is a light frame or ring that holds the foot of a rider, attached to the saddle by
a strap, often called a stirrup leather. Stirrups are usually paired and are used to aid in
mounting and as a support while using a riding animal (usually a horse or other equine,
such as a mule).[1] They greatly increase the rider's ability to stay in the saddle and control
the mount, increasing the animal's usefulness to humans in areas such as communication,
transportation and warfare.
The auricle or auricula is the visible part of the ear that resides outside of the head. This is
also called the pinna (Latin for wing or fin, plural pinnae), but is used more in zootomy.

How we hear
To understand hearing loss, it helps to understand how hearing works. Your ear is an
amazing organ that can perceive sounds from barely audible to very loud and can
pinpoint the direction of a sound source to an amazing degree of accuracy
The human ear consists of three parts:
The outer ear
includes the visible part of the ear (pinna) and the ear canal. Sound waves in the
air, collected by the pinna travel down the ear
canal to the eardrum (tympanic membrane). The sound waves set the eardrum into
vibration.
The middle ear
is an air-filled cavity separated from the outer ear by the eardrum. The middle ear
contains the three smallest bones in the
human body, the ossicles. These bones vibrate along with the eardrum and convert
sound waves into mechanical energy.
The inner ear

contains the cochlea, which is a snaillike organ filled with fluid and contains
thousands of tiny nerve fibers. The mechanical action of theossicles creates
movement in the fluid and stimulates the nerve fibers.
The nerve fibers then send electrical impulses along the auditory nerve to the brain,
which interprets these impulses as sound.