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inner ear

 
Dictionary: inner ear
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n.
The portion of the ear located within the temporal bone that is involved in both hearing and balance and includes the semicircular canals, vestibule, and cochlea. Also called internal ear, labyrinth.


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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:

inner ear

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inner ear
Part of the ear containing organs of hearing and equilibrium. The bony labyrinth has three sections (semicircular canals, vestibule, and cochlea); within each structure is a corresponding part of the membranous labyrinth (semicircular ducts, two saclike structures in the vestibule, and cochlear duct). Sound vibrations are transmitted from the middle ear through the membrane-covered oval window to fluid in the snail-shell-shaped cochlea, whose motion stimulates hair cells in the cochlea. The hair cells trigger nerve impulses that travel to the brain, which interprets them as sound. The vestibule and semicircular canals also have organs with hair cells. Those in the vestibule indicate the head's position with respect to the rest of the body (see proprioception). The three semicircular canals, at right angles to each other, signal motion of the head in three-dimensional space. Continued stimulation after motion stops causes a mismatch with visual input, experienced as dizziness or motion sickness.

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Health Dictionary:

inner ear

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The part of the ear, located deep within the skull, where sound vibrations are converted to electrical signals and sent to the brain via the auditory nerve to produce the sensation of hearing. Organs related to balance are also located in the inner ear.

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2009 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Health Dictionary. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.  Read more

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