describe briefly about structure and working of Middle ear

Dear student,
The ear is one of the five sensory organs of our body. It recognises the sound waves from various sources. The following figure shows the structure of a human ear.

The human ear consists of three main parts known as the outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear. The following chart shows the various parts of the ear.

• Eardrum is the intersection of the outer and the middle ear.

• Oval window is the intersection of the middle and the inner ear.

Structure of middle ear:
It is an air-filled tympanic cavity that is connected with pharynx through Eustachian tube. Eustachian tube helps to equalize air pressure in both sides of tympanic membrane. The middle ear contains a flexible chain of three middle bones called ear ossicles. The three ear ossicles are malleus, incus, and stapes that are attached to each other.

The stirrup bone of the middle ear is the smallest bone in human body.

Functioning of Middle ear:

The following table lists the functions of different parts of the middle ear.