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Ear Anatomy - Organ of Hearing and Balance

These illustrations were created for patient education and publishing. Medical-artist.com specialises in providing such custom made illustrations to suit all projects, this project of the ear involved diagrams to complex anatomy to animated parts. To have your own medical or anatomical matter turned into a helpful visual for any project please contact the team here.

Anatomy and Function of the Ear

The ear is part of the auditory system and is the organ that detects sound. It not only receives sound, but also aids in balance and body position. There are three components to the ear: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. All three are involved in hearing but only the inner ear is responsible for balance.
In most mammals, the visible ear is a flap of tissue that is also called the pinna or the auricle. Vertebrates have a pair of ears, placed somewhat symmetrically on opposite sides of the head. This arrangement aids in the ability to localize sound sources.

The outer ear or the fleshy part we can see funnels sounds waves towards the ear drum, or tympanic membrane to allow it to vibrate. The pinna is also resonsible for protecting the ear drum from damage.

The middle ear is an air filled cavity located in the temporal bone of the skull, behind the ear drum and includes the three ear bones or ossicles: the malleus (or hammer), incus (or anvil), and stapes (or stirrup). The opening of the Eustachian tube is also located here. Air pressure is equalized in this space via the Eustachian tube which drains into the nasopharynx or the back of the throat and nose. Normally, the Eustachian tube is collapsed, but it gapes open both with swallowing and with positive pressure.

The inner ear has two functions the first is hearing and the second is balance consiting of the cochlea, vestibule, and semicircular canals. The cochlea is responsible for hearing. The semicircular canals have function associated with balance. The vestibule which connects the two and contains two more balance and equilibrium related structures, the saccule and utricle.