From the posterior wall of the

saccule The saccule is a bed of sensory cells in the inner ear. It translates head movements into neural impulses for the brain to interpret. The saccule detects linear accelerations and head tilts in the vertical plane. When the head moves verticall ...

a canal, the endolymphatic duct, is given off; this duct is joined by the

ductus utriculosaccularis The utriculosaccular duct (Latin: Ductus utriculosaccularis) is a part of the membranous labyrinth of the inner ear which connects the two parts of the vestibule, the utricle and the saccule. The utriculosaccular duct continues to the endolympha ...

, and then passes along the

aquaeductus vestibuli At the hinder part of the medial wall of the vestibule is the orifice of the vestibular aqueduct, which extends to the posterior surface of the petrous portion of the temporal bone. It transmits a small vein, and contains a tubular prolongation ...

and ends in a blind pouch ( endolymphatic sac) on the posterior surface of the petrous portion of the

temporal bone The temporal bones are situated at the sides and base of the skull, and lateral to the temporal lobes of the cerebral cortex. The temporal bones are overlaid by the sides of the head known as the temples, and house the structures of the ears. ...

, where it is in contact with the

dura mater In neuroanatomy, dura mater is a thick membrane made of dense irregular connective tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. It is the outermost of the three layers of membrane called the meninges that protect the central nervous system. ...

. Disorders of the endolymphatic duct include Meniere's Disease and

Enlarged Vestibular Aqueduct Large vestibular aqueduct is a structural deformity of the inner ear. Enlargement of this duct is one of the most common inner ear deformities and is commonly associated with hearing loss during childhood. The term was first discovered in 1791 by ...

Additional images

File:Gray902.png, Transverse section through head of fetal sheep, in the region of the labyrinth. X 30. File:Gray927.png, Transverse section of a human semicircular canal and duct

References

External links

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The Endolymphatic Duct and Sac
Vestibular system {{anatomy-stub