Anatomy of the ear

by
OMAR Malik Al-rawi
Arab borad of otolaryngology
Egyptian fellowship in otolaryngology
Lecturer at anbar college of medicine
Department of surgery

Anatomy of the Ear

parts

External middle inner

1- auricle 1-TM 1-cochlea
2-EAC 2-muscles 2-vestibule
3-Ossicles 3-semicircular canal
 Auricle

• is made of elastic cartilage with perichondrium

• skin tightly adherent anteriorly and loosely adherent posteriorly.
• attached to the head by
1) extension of cartilage into the ear canal
2) an anterior, superior, and posterior ligament
3) an anterior, superior, and posterior muscle
• The lateral surface of the auricle has characteristic prominences and depressions
which are different in every individual even identical twins
Blood supply

The auricular veins drain into

the veins accompanying
the auricular arteries.

Lymphatic drainage
Nerve supply
External auditory canal (EAC)
• 1 inch in length
• longer anterior wall than posterior one
• outer 1/3 is cartilaginous while inner 2/3 bony
• S shape direction not straight with cartilaginous part is directed upwards, backwards,
medially and bony part is directed downwards, forwards and medially.
• Skin linning of the cartilaginous part is thick with hair follicles, sebaceous and ceruminous
glands. While that of the bony part is thin without any adnexal structures or subcutaneous
tissue. It is the only site in the body with skin directly onto periosteum, and is extremely
pain sensitive

• Blood supply :
anterior, posterior and deep auricular vessels
• Lymph Drainage:
It drains into the anterior, posterior & inferior auricular lymph glands
• nerve supply :
anterior half —-> auriculo-temporal nerve ( CNV)
posterior half ——> auricular branch of the vagus nerve (Arnold's nerve).
 Middle ear
❑ six sided box .
❑ 1 to 2 cm3 air filled cavity
❑lined by mucous membrane and houses ossicles, stapedius and tensor tympani
muscles and chorda tympani nerve and tympanic plexus.
❑ communicates with the nasopharynx through the pharyngotympanic tube(the
Eustachian tube) and with the mastoid air cells posteriorly through the additus of the
mastoid antrum .
❑ 3 zones :
 attic above the level of malleolar folds
 mesotympanum opposite the tympanic membrane
 hypotympanum below the tympanic annulus

Relations
❑ Roof: Tegmen plate separates it from middle cranial fossa and its contents like
meninges and temporal lobe of cerebrum.
❑ Floor: Jugular bulb
❑ Medial: Labyrinth. Lateral semicircular canal lie posterosuperior to facial nerve
❑ lateral :is the partly membranous (tympanic membrane) and partly bony which is the
outer attic wall.
❑ Posterior: Sigmoid venous sinus and mastoid air system
❑ Anterior: Petrous part of internal carotid artery lying in carotid canal , tensor tympani
muscle and ET.
Tympanic membrane

❑Slightly oval in shape with about 1 cm surface area and 0.1 mm thickness
❑ pearly gray in color
❑ oblique position and forms an angle of 55° with deep EAC.
❑ 3 layers (except in pars faccida)
❑ 2 parts
• pars flaccida (Shrapnell’s membrane)
• pars tensa

Blood supply

❑ Deep auricular branch of the maxillary artery.

❑Stylomastoid.
❑Middle meningeal
❑Ascending pharyngeal.
❑Internal carotid arteries.
❑The veins drain into the pterygoid plexus & the superior petrosal sinus
 lymphatic drainage
❑ Retropharyngeal.
❑ parotid glands.
nerve supply
❑The main sensory nerve of the middle ear is the tympanic branch of
the glossopharyngeal nerve
 Eustachian tube

❑ 36 mm in length in adult and 18 mm in neonate

❑ connecting lateral nasopharynx and anterior wall of middle ear
❑ more horizontal in children ( facilitate ascending infection )
❑ lateral 1/3 is bony and lined by cuboidal epithelium and cartilaginous 2/3 lined by
respiratory epithelium.
❑ its function is to equalize the pressure on either side of TM.

Mastoid air cells

❑ honey-comb like air cells within the mastoid part of temporal bone
❑ depending on its development 3 types are present
1. cellular well developed air cells with septa
2. diploeic marrow spaces with few air cells
3. sclerotic few marrow spaces and air cells
❑ divided into a number of topographical groups
1- Antrum
• 2- Mastoid tip cells
• 3- Zygomatic cells
• 4- Squamous cells
• 5- Petrous apex cells
• 6- Perisinus cells
• 7- Perilabyrinthine cells
• 8- Retrofacial cells
• 9- Subdural cells
Inner ear

❑ series of cavities filled with ducts and sacs

❑ it lies within the temporal bone
❑ its called labyrinth because of their complexity
❑ it composed of two parts :
1- bony part ( cochlea , vestibule and semicircular canals)
2- membranous ( cochlear ducts , utricle , saccule and semicircular ducts)
 Bony labyrinth : consisting of

the Cochlea
❑ lies anterior in the labyrinth
❑ 32 mm in length
❑ snail shell in shape
❑ containing the cochlear duct which contain the organ of corti
❑ rotate 2 ½ around a central bony axis called the modiolus
❑ osseous spiral lamina project from this modiolus
❑ filled with perilymph which is similar to ECF rich in sodium
molecules.

Cont…

the vestibule
❑ form the middle part between the cochlea (ant) and SCC (post)
❑ form the medial wall of the inner ear
❑ containing the utricle and saccule
❑ has 2 depressions in its lateral wall
1- the oval window posterio-superiorly
2- the round window posterior- inferiorly
❑ from the posterior part of its medial surface project the vestibular aqueduct which is a
bony canal containing the endolymphatic duct.
Cont..

the semicircular canals (SCC)

❑ form the posterior part of the inner ear
❑ lies at 90 ° angle to one another
❑ connected to the vestibule via ampulated and non-ampulated ends
❑ they are the superior (ant) , lateral and posterior one
 Membranous labyrinth
❑ series of ducts and sacs within the bony labyrinth
❑ filled with endolymph which is similar to ICF ( rich in potassium)
❑ consisting of 3 parts
1. cochlear duct (scala media)
2. utricle and saccule
3. semicircular ducts
❑ the scala media separated from scala vestibula above via Reissner’s
membrane and from scala tympani below via basilar membrane
❑ both scala vestibula and tympani meet at helicotrema
❑ scala vestibula and tympani communicate functionally with the middle
ear via oval and round window respectively.

Organ of corti
• a series of epithelial structures arranged along the basilar Membrane
• Tunnel of corti composed of two rows of rods of Corti, and forming a
triangle with the basilar membrane, divides the organ into inner and outer
portions. The tunnel contains a fluid called cortilymph.
• Inner hair cells are single row of cell bearing 120 sterocillia on its surface
• outer hair cell are three rows of cells bearing 46-148 sterocillia on its
surface
• stria vascularis lines the outer aspect of the scala media and responsible
for perilymph production
• tectorial membrane overhang the organ of corti
• spiral ligament is thickened endosteum lines the outer bony cochlea
• Hensen cell are suppoting cells outside the outer hair cells
 Vestibulocochlear nerve ( CNVIII)
❑ two main divisions ( vestibular for balance and cochlear for hearing)
❑ vestibular part
1. superior and inferior one
2. originate from brainstem and ends on the vestibular receptors( utricular
and saccular macula and SCC crista)
❑ cochlear part
1. originate from brainstem and ends via a terminal fibers in contact with the
hair cells
2. these fibers are of two types
 type 1 which is the afferent sparsely granulated
 type 2 which is the efferent richly granulated
 these fibers passes through spiral lamina to the spiral ganglia within the
modiolus and continue as cochlear nerve
 Blood supply

❑ the labyrinth receive their blood supply by internal auditory artery

❑ internal auditory artery is a branch from anterior inferior vestibular
artery in most cases but sometimes from basilar artery directly

Thank you