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Comparative Anatomy of the Middle Ear

  • Chapter
Auditory System

Part of the book series: Handbook of Sensory Physiology ((1534,volume 5 / 1))

Abstract

All vertebrates have sensory organs that are stimulated by the movement of fluid surrounding delicate hair cell systems. The most simple organs of this type are the lateral lines of fishes and aquatic amphibians; these are located on the external body surface; they are stimulated by water rushing past the animal, by the animal’s moving through the water, or by localized water displacements (acoustic near field) in the vicinity of a sound source. Lateral lines are not effectively stimulated by the minute oscillations in pressure (acoustic far field) which accompany displacements and which constitute sound in the usual sense (van Bergeijk, 1966).

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    O. W. Henson Jr.

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  1. I. Physiologisches Institut der Universität, 852 Erlangen, Universitätsstraße 17, Germany

    Wolf D. Keidel

  2. Center of Neural Sciences, Indiana Univesity, Psychology Building 320, Bloomington, 47401, Indiana, USA

    William D. Neff

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Henson, O.W. (1974). Comparative Anatomy of the Middle Ear. In: Keidel, W.D., Neff, W.D. (eds) Auditory System. Handbook of Sensory Physiology, vol 5 / 1. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-65829-7_3

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