The tympanic cavity is a small cavity surrounding the

bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, a ...

of the

middle ear The middle ear is the portion of the ear medial to the eardrum, and distal to the oval window of the cochlea (of the inner ear). The mammalian middle ear contains three ossicles, which transfer the vibrations of the eardrum into waves in the ...

. Within it sit the ossicles, three small bones that transmit vibrations used in the detection of

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' b ...

Structure

On its lateral surface, it abuts the

external auditory meatus The ear canal (external acoustic meatus, external auditory meatus, EAM) is a pathway running from the outer ear to the middle ear. The adult human ear canal extends from the pinna to the eardrum and is about in length and in diameter. Str ...

ear canal from which it is separated by the

tympanic membrane In the anatomy of humans and various other tetrapods, the eardrum, also called the tympanic membrane or myringa, is a thin, cone-shaped membrane that separates the external ear from the middle ear. Its function is to transmit sound from the a ...

(eardrum).

Walls

The tympanic cavity is bounded by: * Facing the inner ear, the medial wall (or ''labyrinthic wall'', ''labyrinthine wall'') is vertical, and has the

oval window The oval window (or ''fenestra vestibuli'' or ''fenestra ovalis'') is a membrane-covered opening from the middle ear to the cochlea of the inner ear. Vibrations that contact the tympanic membrane travel through the three ossicles and into the in ...

and

round window The round window is one of the two openings from the middle ear into the inner ear. It is sealed by the secondary tympanic membrane (round window membrane), which vibrates with opposite phase to vibrations entering the inner ear through the oval ...

, the promontory, and the prominence of the facial canal. * Facing the

outer ear The outer ear, external ear, or auris externa is the external part of the ear, which consists of the auricle (also pinna) and the ear canal. It gathers sound energy and focuses it on the eardrum (tympanic membrane). Structure Auricle Th ...

, the lateral wall (or ''membranous wall''), is formed mainly by the

, partly by the ring of bone into which this membrane is inserted. This ring of bone is incomplete at its upper part, forming a notch (notch of Rivinus), close to which are three small apertures: the "iter chordæ posterius", the petrotympanic fissure, and the "iter chordæ anterius". The iter chordæ posterius (apertura tympanica canaliculi chordæ) is situated in the angle of junction between the

mastoid The mastoid part of the temporal bone is the posterior (back) part of the temporal bone, one of the bones of the skull. Its rough surface gives attachment to various muscles (via tendons) and it has openings for blood vessels. From its borders, ...

and ''membranous wall of tympanic cavity'' immediately behind the

and on a level with the upper end of the manubrium of the

malleus The malleus, or hammer, is a hammer-shaped small bone or ossicle of the middle ear. It connects with the incus, and is attached to the inner surface of the eardrum. The word is Latin for 'hammer' or 'mallet'. It transmits the sound vibrations f ...

; it leads into a minute canal, which descends in front of the canal for the

facial nerve The facial nerve, also known as the seventh cranial nerve, cranial nerve VII, or simply CN VII, is a cranial nerve that emerges from the pons of the brainstem, controls the muscles of facial expression, and functions in the conveyance of taste ...

, and ends in that canal near the

stylo-mastoid foramen The stylomastoid foramen is a foramen between the styloid and mastoid processes of the temporal bone of the skull. It is the termination of the facial canal, and transmits the facial nerve, and stylomastoid artery. Facial nerve inflammation in t ...

. Through it the

chorda tympani The chorda tympani is a branch of the facial nerve that originates from the taste buds in the front of the tongue, runs through the middle ear, and carries taste messages to the brain. It joins the facial nerve (cranial nerve VII) inside the fa ...

nerve enters the tympanic cavity. The petrotympanic fissure opens just above and in front of the ring of bone into which the tympanic membrane is inserted; in this situation it is a mere slit about 2 mm. in length. It lodges the anterior process and anterior ligament of the malleus, and gives passage to the anterior tympanic branch of the

internal maxillary artery The maxillary artery supplies deep structures of the face. It branches from the external carotid artery just deep to the neck of the mandible. Structure The maxillary artery, the larger of the two terminal branches of the external carotid artery, ...

. The iter chordæ anterius (canal of Huguier) is placed at the medial end of the petrotympanic fissure; through it the chorda tympani nerve leaves the tympanic cavity. * The roof of the cavity (also called the ''tegmental wall'', ''tegmental roof'' or ''tegmentum tympani'') is formed by a thin plate of bone, the tegmen tympani, which separates the cranial and tympanic cavities. It is situated on the anterior (frontal) 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. ...

close to its angle of junction with the squama temporalis; it is prolonged backward so as to roof in the

tympanic antrum The mastoid antrum (tympanic antrum, antrum mastoideum, Valsalva's antrum) is an air space in the petrous portion of the temporal bone, communicating posteriorly with the mastoid cells and anteriorly with the epitympanic recess of the middle ear vi ...

, and forward to cover in the semicanal for the

tensor tympani muscle The tensor tympani is a muscle within the middle ear, located in the bony canal above the bony part of the auditory tube, and connects to the malleus bone. Its role is to dampen loud sounds, such as those produced from chewing, shouting, or thu ...

. Its lateral edge corresponds with the remains of the petrosquamous suture.Public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy The ''Atticus'' is the part of the tegmentum tympani where the

stapes The ''stapes'' or stirrup is a bone in the middle ear of humans and other animals which is involved in the conduction of sound vibrations to the inner ear. This bone is connected to the oval window by its annular ligament, which allows the foo ...

and incus are attached. * The floor of the cavity (also called the ''jugular wall'') is narrow, and consists of a thin plate of bone (fundus tympani) which separates the tympanic cavity from the jugular fossa. It presents, near the labyrinthic wall, a small aperture for the passage of the tympanic branch of the glossopharyngeal nerve. * The posterior wall (or ''mastoid wall'') is wider above than below, and presents for examination the entrance to the tympanic antrum, the pyramidal eminence, and the fossa incudis. * The anterior wall (or ''carotid wall'') is wider above than below; it corresponds with the

carotid canal The carotid canal is a passageway in the temporal bone of the skull through which the internal carotid artery enters the middle cranial fossa from the neck. Structure The carotid canal is located within the middle cranial fossa, at the petrou ...

, from which it is separated by a thin plate of bone perforated by the tympanic branch of the internal carotid artery, and by the

deep petrosal nerve The deep petrosal nerve is a branch of the internal carotid plexus which runs through the carotid canal lateral to the internal carotid artery. It enters the cartilaginous substance which fills the foramen lacerum, and joins with the greater petros ...

which connects the sympathetic plexus on the internal carotid artery with the tympanic plexus on the promontory. At the upper part of the anterior wall are the orifice of the semicanal for the

Tensor tympani muscle The tensor tympani is a muscle within the middle ear, located in the bony canal above the bony part of the auditory tube, and connects to the malleus bone. Its role is to dampen loud sounds, such as those produced from chewing, shouting, or thu ...

and the tympanic orifice of the auditory tube, separated from each other by a thin horizontal plate of bone, the septum canalis musculotubarius. These canals run from the tympanic cavity forward and downward to the retiring angle between the squama and the

petrous portion of the temporal bone The petrous part of the temporal bone is pyramid-shaped and is wedged in at the base of the skull between the sphenoid and occipital bones. Directed medially, forward, and a little upward, it presents a base, an apex, three surfaces, and three an ...

Development

It is formed from the tubotympanic recess, an expansion of the first pharyngeal pouch.

Clinical significance

If damaged, the

can be repaired in a procedure called

tympanoplasty Tympanoplasty is the surgical operation performed to reconstruct hearing mechanism of middle ear Classification Tympanoplasty is classified into five different types, originally described by Horst Ludwig Wullstein (1906–1987) in 1956. # Type ...

. Should fluid accumulate within the middle ear as the result of infection or for some other reason, it can be drained by puncturing the tympanic membrane with a large bore needle ( tympanocentesis).

Additional images

File:Gray907.png, External and middle ear, opened from the front. Right side. File:Gray908.png, Horizontal section through left ear; upper half of section. File:Occipital bone dissection.jpg, Tympanic cavity. Facial canal. Internal carotid artery. File:Slide1ghe.JPG, Auditory ossicles. Tympanic cavity. Deep dissection.

References

External links

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