Stapes

We just learned about the Malleus and Incus, also called the hammer and anvil.
.

Another bone in the ear is the Stapes also called the stirrup.
This is the smallest bone in the human body, at about 3 millimeters.
It gets the name stirrup because it looks like a stirrup from a saddle used to ride a horse.

Just like the malleus and incus, when these bones move they also move the stapes and it sends the vibrations on toward the inner ear.


(from: wikipedia - stapes)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Eosinophil

Incus

We just learned about the Malleus.

Another part of the ear is the Incus.

Incus is a Latin word that means anvil.
This is the bone in the ear next to the malleus or hammer.
The hammer takes vibrations from the eardrum and passes them on to the anvil which also vibrates and shakes.


(from: wikipedia - incus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Neutrophil

Malleus

We just learned about the Ear Ossicles.

One of the three bones that make up the Ossicles is the Malleus, also called the hammer.

The malleus is touching the eardrum, and when the eardrum vibrates from sound coming in, it shakes the malleus bone.
When the malleus bone shakes, it is touching the other ossicles and sends the vibrations toward the inner ear.


(from: wikipedia - malleus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Monocyte

Ear Ossicles

We just learned about the Middle Ear.

Part of the middle ear is called the Ossicles.

These are three bones in the ear that help take the sound coming from the outer ear and vibrate to help send the right sounds to the inner ear.


(from: wikipedia - ossicles)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: B Cells

Middle Ear

We just learned about the Perilymph.

Another part of the ear is the Middle Ear.

We've learned about the outer ear that you can see on the outside of the body, and the inner ear that turns the sound into messages for the brain to understand.

The Middle Ear is in between the outer and inner ear, and helps take the sound brought in by the outer ear and turn it into sound waves for the inner ear to send to the brain.

(from: wikipedia - middle ear)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: T Cells

Perilymph

We just learned about the Organ of Conti.

Another part of the ears is the Perilymph.

This is a gooey liquid that is inside the bony labryinth we learned about.
The perilymph helps control the electrical messages that are sent to the brain when the ear hears a sound and turns it into a message.


(from: wikipedia - perilymph)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: NK Cells

Organ of Corti

We just learned about the Ear Hair Cells.

Another part of the ear is the Organ of Corti.

This is the part inside the cochlea that holds on to all of the different types of ear hair cells.


(from: wikipedia - organ of corti)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lymphocyte

Ear Hair Cells

We just learned about the Cochlea.

Another part of the ear is the Hair Cells.

Inside the Cochlea are tiny microscopic hairs that move when sound hits them.
When these hairs move, the part of the body they are attached to lets out some chemicals.
Those chemicals then touch some other cells in the body which let out electricity.
That electricity sends the message to the brain that the body heard a sound.

Depending on how loud, soft, high or low the sound is, the hairs will wiggle differently,
and that will send different chemicals and different electricity to the brain to tell you what sounds you are hearing.


(from: wikipedia - hair cell)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Platelet

Cochlea

We just learned about the Semicircular Canals.

Another part of the bony labryinth in the inner ear is the Cochlea.

This is a spiral that sounds go into, and there are little hairs inside the spiral that send signals to the brain telling it what sounds are being heard.
The different parts of the spiral help the ear listen to different types of sounds.
At the opening the spiral collects sounds that are high pitched like a whistle.
As the spiral goes in further the sounds get lower, more like a big drum beating.

All of these different sounds get sent to the brain to hear all the different highs and lows.

The name cochlea comes from the greek word for spiral snail shell.


(from: wikipedia - cochlea)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Red Blood Cell

Semicircular Canals

We just learned about the Eardrum.

Another part of the ear is the Semicircular Canals.

On the outside of the inner ear are three tubes that go out like circles and then come back to the ear.
These are part of the bony labryinth, and they are what help the body tell which direction the head is moving.

Inside these tubes is some liquid, and at the opening of the tubes are some very tiny hairs.
When you move your head around, the liquid bumps into the hairs, which send signals to the brain telling it that you are moving.

The three semicircular canal tubes go in three different directions so that they can tell whether you are tilting your head, moving up or down, or side to side.


(from: wikipedia - semicircular canals)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: White Blood Cell

Eardrum

We just learned about the Vestibule of the Ear.

Another part of the ear is the Eardrum also called the tympanic membrane or myringa.

This is a thin piece of skin and tissue that works almost like a drum.
When sound comes into the ear, the eardrum vibrates.
There are nerves connected to the eardrum, so when it moves it sends signals to the brain telling it that the ear is hearing sounds.


(from: wikipedia - eardrum)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Blood Cell

Tire Valve Stem

We just learned about the Tire Tread.

Another Tire Valve Stem.

This is the part that sticks out from the side of the tire, that you use to fill it up with air.

In the old days there used to be an inflatable tube inside called an inner tube, kind of like a pool floatie, and the valve stem would be part of that.
Now these days tires don't have an inner tube, so that is just part of the outside of the tire.

When you push down on the little metal post inside the tire it opens up the valve and lets air out, or lets you pump air in.
This type of valve is called a Schrader valve named after the person who invented it.



(from: wikipedia - valve stem)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Air Brakes

Vestibule of the Ear

We just learned about the part of the inner ear called the Bony Labryinth.

Another part of the inner ear is the Vestibule of the Ear.

The word vestibule means entrance, and this part of the ear has pathways going to the other parts of the inner ear.
It also has some walls that have tiny holes in them where very thin hairlike nerves go through to other parts of the ear.


(from: wikipedia - vestibule of the ear)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Haematopoiesis

Bony Labyrinth

We just learned about the Inner Ear.

One part of the inner ear is the Bony Labyrinth, also called the osseous labyrinth or otic capsule.

We learned a while ago that the part of the skull bone on the side of the head is called the Temporal Bone
Inside the temporal bone is the Bony Labyrinth, which is where the inner ear is.


(from: wikipedia - bony labyrinth)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Bone Marrow

Inner Ear

We just learned about the Ear Canal.

Another part of the ear is the Inner Ear, also called the internal ear, or auris interna.

We learned about the parts of the outer ear that you can see outside the body.
After the outer ear helps bring sounds to the ear and into the ear canal, the parts of the inner ear help turn all of those noises and sound waves into something the brain can understand.


(from: wikipedia - inner ear)


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Ear Canal

We just learned about the Concha.

On the outer ear we know about:
- The auricle or pinna, which is the main outside part of the ear
- The helix, which is the folded over part around the outside
- The antihelix, which is the Y shaped bump that sticks out
- The antitragus, which is the bump pointing up that is connected to the earlobe
- The tragus, which is the part closest to the cheek that sticks out
- The earlobe, which is the part that hangs down at the bottom
- The intertragic notch, which is the open space between the tragus and antitragus
- The concha, which is the part of the ear that leads right into the inside of the ear.

Another part of the outer ear is the Ear Canal, also called the external auditoriy meatus, or EAM.

This is the tunnel in your ear that leads to the inner ear.
For a grown up, the ear canal is usually about 1 inch long, and 1/3 of an inch wide.

The ear canal (external acoustic meatus, external auditory meatus, EAM) is a pathway running from the outer ear to the middle ear. The adult human ear canal extends from the pinna to the eardrum and is about 2.5 centimetres (1 in) in length and 0.7 centimetres (0.3 in) in diameter.
(from: wikipedia - ear canal)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lymphatic Vessel

Concha

We just learned about the Intertragic Notch.

On the outer ear we know about:
- The auricle or pinna, which is the main outside part of the ear
- The helix, which is the folded over part around the outside
- The antihelix, which is the Y shaped bump that sticks out
- The antitragus, which is the bump pointing up that is connected to the earlobe
- The tragus, which is the part closest to the cheek that sticks out
- The earlobe, which is the part that hangs down at the bottom
- The intertragic notch, which is the open space between the tragus and antitragus

Another part of the ear is the Concha.

This is the part of the ear that is shaped like a bowl, and leads right into the deeper inside part of the ear.


(from: wikipedia - auricle (anatomy))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lymph Capillary

Intertragic Notch

We just learned about the Earlobe.

On the outer ear we know about:
- The auricle or pinna, which is the main outside part of the ear
- The helix, which is the folded over part around the outside
- The antihelix, which is the Y shaped bump that sticks out
- The antitragus, which is the bump pointing up that is connected to the earlobe
- The tragus, which is the part closest to the cheek that sticks out
- The earlobe, which is the part that hangs down at the bottom

Another part of the ear is the Intertragic Notch

This is the open space in between the Tragus and AntiTragus.


(from: wikipedia - intertragic notch)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lymph

Earlobe

We just learned about the Tragus.

On the outer ear we know about:
- The auricle or pinna, which is the main outside part of the ear
- The helix, which is the folded over part around the outside
- The antihelix, which is the Y shaped bump that sticks out
- The antitragus, which is the bump pointing up that is connected to the earlobe
- The tragus, which is the part closest to the cheek that sticks out

Another part of the ear is the Earlobe, also called the lobulus auriculae.

This is the soft part of the ear that hangs down at the bottom.
Some people have earlobes that are loose, and other people have earlobes that are touching the side of their face and aren't loose.



(from: wikipedia - earlobe)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lymphatic System

Tragus

We just learned about the Antitragus.

On the outer ear we know about:
- The auricle or pinna, which is the main outside part of the ear
- The helix, which is the folded over part around the outside
- The antihelix, which is the Y shaped bump that sticks out
- The antitragus, which is the bump pointing up that is connected to the earlobe

Another part of the ear is the Tragus.

This is the part of the ear that is closest to the cheek.
It sticks out and can be pushed down to close the ear so you can't hear.

Tragus is also the name for the hair that grows around the entrance of the ear.
The name comes from the Greek word τράγος (tragos) meaning goat.


(from: wikipedia - tragus (ear))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Presbyopia