PHGY 209 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Epithelium, Cochlea, Semicircular Canals
20 Nov 2017
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Document Summary
Pressure waves get into the ear through the external auditory canal. Surrounding the external auditory canal is the pinna. The pinna is shaped the way it is to reflect some frequencies better than others into the external auditory canal. It also gives information of where the sound is coming from in the vertical elevation. This reflects sound differently when it is coming from below or above. A the end of the auditory canal you have the tympanic membrane which moves back and forth as the pressure waves hit it. The transduction process in the auditory system has a lot of moving parts because pressure waves are very brief. Behind the tympanic membrane is the middle ear. The middle hear is attached to the back of the throat by the eustachian tube to maintain the pressure equal on both sides of the tympanic membrane.
