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What are Ears?

An ear is a sense organ present in mammals that gives them the ability to hear. The word ear comes from Middle English ere, from Old English ēare (“ear”). The other important function of the ear is to balance the body. The balance provided by the ear to the body is of 2 types: static and dynamic. As the name suggests, static balance is provided when the body is not moving and is provided by two ventricles, the utricle, and the saccule. Dynamic balance is required when the body is in motion and is provided by the three semicircular canals.

Structure of an Ear:

The ear is divided into three parts, namely: 

1. Outer ear.
2. Middle ear.
3. Inner ear.

Outer ear: is the external part of the ear and consists of a pinna, ear canal, and outer eardrum. The pinna consists of helix and antihelix, opens up into the ear canal, and stretches up to 2.5 cm. It ends at the surface of the eardrum. It contains ceruminous and sebaceous glands that produce ear wax.

Middle ear: It is the middle portion of the ear, and it has a cavity called the tympanic cavity, the three ossicles and their attaching ligaments; the auditory tube; and the round and oval windows. The main function of the middle ear is to receive, amplify and transmit the sounds between the outer and inner ear. The ossicles do this. The oval windows also allow for the fluid within the inner ear to move.

Inner ear: the innermost portion of the ear is known as the inner ear. It contains semicircular canals and cochlea. There are three semicircular canals angled at right angles to each other, which are responsible for the balance. The cochlea provides a sense of hearing in humans. The inner ear structurally begins at the oval window, which receives vibrations from the incus of the middle ear.

What is a Nose?

A nose is a sense organ that enables organisms like us to breathe and smell primarily. It is also responsible for speech; the hollow cavities of the paranasal sinuses act as sound chambers that modify and amplify speech and other vocal sounds. The word noise comes from Old English nosu, of West Germanic origin, or related to Dutch news, and more remotely to German Nase, Latin nasus, and Sanskrit nāsā.

Structure of a Nose

There are two parts of the nose the internal nose and external nose both the internal and external nose are made up of bones and cartilages. The bones and cartilages provide strong protection for the internal structures of the nose. The topmost bony part of the nose is formed by the nasal part of the frontal bone, which lies between the brow ridges. A left and a right nasal bone join with the nasal part of the frontal bone at either side and the side with the small lacrimal bones and the frontal process of each maxilla. There are 4 types of cartilages in the nose, namely:

1. Septal.
2. Lateral.
3. Major alar.
4. Minor alar.

The nasal septal cartilage extends from the nasal bones to the bony part of the septum in the midline, posteriorly. It then passes along the floor of the nasal cavity.

The septum is quadrangular–the upper half is attached to the two lateral nasal cartilages, which are fused to the dorsal septum in the midline.

A U-shaped plate of cartilage on each side of the nose forms the vestibule’s lateral and medial walls, known as the medial and lateral crura. The major alar cartilages are freely moveable and can respond to muscles to either open or constrict the nostrils.

It is an oval and flattened, narrow behind, where it is connected with the frontal process of the maxilla by a tough fibrous membrane, in which three or four small nasal cartilages are found. It is also called sesamoid cartilages or accessory cartilages.

What is a Throat?

The throat is the front part of the neck, internally positioned in front of the vertebrae. It contains the pharynx and larynx. It is present in the epiglottis and plays an important role in separating the food pipe and the windpipe, preventing food from entering the lungs. It contains blood vessels, vocal cords, food and windpipe, the tonsils, the palatine uvula, and muscles.

The throat works with various body parts such as the mouth, ears and nose, and other parts. It has important functions ranging from helping us to breathe to helping in the process of digestion. It is also responsible for our speech as it contains the pharynx. The tonsils present in the throat also prevent infection as it contains lymph tissues, which helps keep the body immune to diseases or infections.

Conclusion

In this article, we got a basic understanding of mammals’ ears, throats, and noses. We also got to know the basic and primary functions of these organs. We got to know in detail about the structures of noses and ears. There were details about the functions and importance of the throat. Overall, through this article, we learned how important the throat, ear, and nose are for the functioning of the human body.