Exam 2 Flashcards
(233 cards)
• What are the three parts of the ear?
o External, middle, and inner ear
What is the function of the external ear?
o Air waves generate vibrations in tympanic membrane
• What is the function of the middle ear?
o Ossicles (malleus, incus, stapes) transmit sound to inner ear
• What is the function of the inner ear?
o Vibration conducted through fluid into cochlea
• What are the regions of the external ear?
o Auricle, helix and antihelix, tragus and antitragus, concha and lobule
• What structures are found in the auricle?
o Elastic cartilage covered with skin; sebaceous glands associated with hairs
• What are ceruminous glands?
o Modified apocrine glands that secrete cerumen; protects ear canal against physical damage and microbial invasion
• What is ear wax?
o Mixture of cerumen, sebaceous gland secretion and desquamated meatal cells; found in outer 1/3 of ear canal
• What part of the outer ear is easily traumatized?
o Inner 2/3, due to thin skin over osseous canal
• What is the sensory innervation of the external ear and external acoustic meatus? Middle ear?
o Greater auricular; lesser occipital; auriculotemporal, V3; facial; vagus o Glossopharyngeal (IX)
• What does the tympanic cavity contain?
o The ossciles and their muscles
• What does the auditory (Eustachian) tube do?
o Connects tympanic cavity to nasopharynx
o Tubal cartilage: opened by levator/tensor palate. Salpingopharyngeus
• What do the ossicles do?
o Amplify vibration from wide tympanic membrane through narrow base of stapes
• What are the ossicles and their roles?
o Malleus: vibrated by tympanic membrane
o Incus: transmits from malleus to stapes
o Stapes: transmits vibrations through oval window to cochlea
• What are the muscles that dampen ossicle mov’t? Innervation?
o Tensor tympani: dampens extreme low frequency vibrations; innervated by V3
o Stapedius: dampens extreme vibrations of stapes; innervated by VII
• What is the physical route of the chorda tympani?
o Passes b/w tympanic membrane and malleus (possibly impacted by otitis media)
o Branches from facial nerve in tympanic cavity, exits and joins V3 as it approaches the oral cavity
• What type of neurons in the chorda tympani?
o Contains both sensory and autonomic neuronal axons
o Sensory neurons mediate taste from anterior 2/3 of tongue
o Parasympathetics to submandibular and sublingual salivary glands
• Where do the post-and preganglionic axons of chorda tympani come from?
o Pre: from superior salivary nucleus
o Post: from submandibular ganglion
• What is the central feature of the tympanic membrane?
o Umbo: central depression created by tension of the malleus
• What are the visible landmarks in an auriscopic view?
o Malleus (lateral process, handle, umbo); incus; stapes; cone of light; flaccid and tense parts of TM
• What is otitis media?
o Infection/inflammation of the middle ear; fluid buildup blocks middle ear, air is absorbed, negative pressure pulls TM inward (or viral/bacterial-laden fluid upward from pharynx into tympanic cavity)
• How can otitis media be treated? What can happen if untreated?
o Fluid drained by tube inserted in TM
o Infection can get through TM or spread through tegmen tympani; meningitis or brain abscess
• What is cholesteatoma?
o Skin cyst; skin from ear canal fills with cysts and migrates through a hole in TM; grows out of control, damages middle ear and mastoid
• What is the cochlea?
o Part of inner ear; fluid-filled spirally formed bony canal; contains the membranous cochlear duct that contains the hearing receptors