The ear diagram shows that the ear has external, middle, and inner portions. The outer ear is called the pinna and is made of ridged cartilage covered by skin. Sound funnels through the pinna, the external auditory canal, a short tube that ends at the eardrum. The eardrum is a transparent gray membrane. Attached to the center part of the drum is the middle ear bone. The space inside the eardrum is called the middle ear. Three of the smallest bones of the body are found in the middle ear; they are called the malleus, the incus, and the stapes. The primary function of the middle ear is to convert air vibrations, which have been channeled down the external ear canal to the tympanic membrane, into fluid vibrations in the cochlea. Use EdrawMax to create and share ear diagrams with your students or teachers.
