Discover ALL the parts of the ear and the ear

One of the senses of human beings is hearing. To hear, human beings have developed an organ called the ear that, in addition to hearing, has evolved to allow us to have something else very important: balance. Despite appearing to be a simple organ, the ear has many parts and all of them have an important function within the whole. In this lesson from a TEACHER we will see what the ear is and what the difference is between ear and ear, what are the parts of the ear and what are the parts of the ear. If you want to know more about the subject, in this case you will have to keep your eyes wide open and not your ears, and keep reading!

You may have asked yourself this question at some point, what is the difference between ear and ear? Well the hearing is the body in charge of hearing and balance and is made up of three regions. The outermost part of the ear, which is what we see on the sides of the head, are the ears.

Therefore, we can say that

ears, which can also be called the pinna or auricle, are a part of the ear, the outermost, whereas the ear is the complete organ, including the ear and other structures that are inside the skull and we cannot see.

The ear is the organ in charge of hearing and balance. This organ is made up of different regions and within each one we can find different structures. Within the ear we can differentiate: outer ear, tympanic membrane, middle ear and inner ear.

Outer ear

The outer ear It is the outermost region of the ear and that we can see from the outside. This part is made up of the ear, auricle or pinna, which we will talk about later, and a canal called the external auditory canal. The external auditory canal is a tube-like structure (canal) that connects the middle ear with the outside and that allows the entry of air, sound and, sometimes, dirt that we have to take care of clean up.

Eardrum

Separating the outer ear and the inner ear is the eardrum or tympanic membrane. The eardrum is a membrane that is found at the end of the external auditory canal and whose missions are: protect the middle ear from dirt or very loud sounds and vibrate when waves reach it sound.

Middle ear

Following the eardrum is the middle ear. The middle ear is the central region of the ear and is made up of the ossicles of the ear and the Eustachian tube. The ear ossicles there are three: hammer, anvil and stirrup. These three small bones are connected to each other and, when sound waves vibrate the eardrum, they are transmitted to these small bones whose function is to amplify the sound. On the other hand, the Eustachian tube It is a tube found in each of the ears whose function is to connect the middle ear with the back of the nose; This connection is made to ensure that the pressure inside the middle ear is equal to the outside, which is very important so that the sound waves can be transmitted well and so that our hearing is not damaged.

Inner ear

Last is the inner ear. The inner ear is made up of the cochlea, vestibule, and semicircular canals. The cochlea or snail contains a liquid (endolymph) and the organ of Corti, which is said to be the organ of the sense of hearing since it has cells with extensions short (cilia) that, when moved by the action of the ossicles of the middle ear, is capable of transforming this movement into electrical impulses that are carried to the brain. There, the brain transforms them into what we interpret as sounds. The lobby and the semicular ducts, for their part, they make up the organ of balance and, like the cochlea, are filled with an endolymph. In addition, they have cells with cyclones that, when they move, allow them to produce electrical impulses that the brain can use to know the position of the body and maintain balance.

As we have seen previously, the ear is the outer part of the ear. Sometimes the ear is seen as a structure with a secondary function, not as important as the inner parts of the ear. This is not true, since the function of the ear is basic to be able to hear well, the ear acts as a funnel and allows us Capture sound vibrations and redirect them effectively into the ear, without passing by or bouncing off the head. Without the ears or without their peculiar structure, the ear could practically not perceive the sound waves and our sense of hearing would be very bad.

The ears have different parts which are, from the inside to the outermost part:

• Tragus or swallow. The tragus or tragus is the cartilaginous structure, shaped like a tongue, which is in the region that joins the ear with the head.
• Antitragus or antitragus. It is the small, triangular structure that is in front of the tragus, under the antehelix.
• Shell. It is the depression that we can observe in the central part of the ear. It is a structure that acts as a funnel and directs sound vibrations towards the ear canal.
• Antihelix. The antihelix is ​​the structure that borders the shell and runs through the ear parallel to the helix. The antihelix allows the shell to have more depth.
• Antihelix fossa. The antihelix fossa is a depression that is located in the upper part of the ear, at the end of the helix.
• Helix channel. It is a depression that is located between the helix and the antihelix.
• Helix. It is the outer rim of the ear and is also known as the helix.
• Lobe. It has a semicircular shape and a free edge. The lobe is the outer face of the ear at the bottom, where the helix ends. It is the only soft formation of the ear since, unlike the rest, it does not have cartilage. In the part closest to the head, the skin that covers it is united to that of the face.