Terminology Service for NFDI4Health
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middle ear

Go to external page http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/UBERON_0001756

The middle ear is the air-filled cavity within the skull of vertebrates that lies between the outer ear and the inner ear. It is linked to the pharynx (and therefore to outside air) via the Eustachian tube and in mammals contains the three ear ossicles, which transmit auditory vibrations from the outer ear (via the tympanum) to the inner ear (via the oval window)[GO]. [ http://amigo.geneontology.org/amigo/term/GO:0042474 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_ear ]

Term info

Label

middle ear

database cross reference
Subsets

uberon_slim, pheno_slim

external definition

The intermediate portion of the ear which consists of a small air-filled and membrane-lined chamber. It is lodged in the temporal bone and continues with the nasopharynx through the Eustachian tube. It is separated from the external ear by the tympanic membrane and from the inner ear by the fenestrae. [Dorian_AF, Elsevier's_encyclopaedic_dictionary_of_medicine, Part_B:_Anatomy_(1988)_Amsterdam_etc.:_Elsevier][VHOG]

has related synonym

auris media

homology notes

The tympanic cavity and auditory tube of an amniote develop from the first embryonic pharyngeal pouch, so they are homologous to the first gill pouch, or spiracle, of a fish. We are uncertain whether this homology strictly applies to the middle ear cavity and auditory tube of lissamphibians, which show certain peculiarities in their development.[uncertain][VHOG]

id

UBERON:0001756