Middle ear
The middle ear, as the name would suggest is situated between the external ear (divided from each other by the tympanic membrane) and the inner ear (divided by the medial wall of the tympanic cavity).
It is an air filled cavity which contains the ossicles, and whose primary role is to mechanically transmit and amplify vibrations received by the tympanic membrane to the cochlea.
Anatomy
- posteriorly, it communicates with the mastoid antrum and mastoid air cells via the aditus ad antrum
- anteriorly, it communicates with the nasopharynx via the eustachian tube (aka pharyngotympanic tube)
The middle ear can be subdivided into a two of sub-spaces
- tympanic cavity proper : space medial to the tympanic membrane, and
- epitympanic recess (the attic) : space above the upper margin of the tympanic membrane, which contains the head of the malleus and most of the incus.
