tympanum

Examples of tympanum in the following topics:

• Reception of Sound

  • They then travel through the auditory canal, causing vibration of the thin diaphragm called the tympanum, or ear drum, the innermost part of the outer ear .
  • Interior to the tympanum is the middle ear, which holds three small bones called the ossicles ("little bones"), that transfer energy from the moving tympanum to the inner ear.
  • In humans, the stapes is not long enough to reach the tympanum.
  • If we did not have the malleus and the incus, then the vibrations of the tympanum would never reach the inner ear.

• Transduction of Sound

  • The pressure waves strike the tympanum, causing it to vibrate.
  • The mechanical energy from the moving tympanum transmits the vibrations to the three bones of the middle ear.