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Fig. 1 | Nanoscale Research Letters

Fig. 1

From: Biocompatibility of Liposome Nanocarriers in the Rat Inner Ear After Intratympanic Administration

Fig. 1

Illustration of the mammalian ear. The mammalian ear (including humans and rats) is composed of outer, middle, and inner ears. The outer ear (OE) is composed of auricle and external auditory canal (EAC). The middle ear (ME) is composed of the tympanic membrane (TM) and the cavity that houses the ossicular chain, including the malleus (Ma), incus (Inc), and stapes. The middle ear cavity is an extension of the nasopharynx via the Eustachian tube (ET) and communicates with the inner ear through the oval window (OW) and round window membrane (RWM). The inner ear is composed of cochlea and vestibular system. The cochlea is the sensory organ for hearing and has three chambers, i.e., the perilymphatic compartments of scala tympani (ST) and scala vestibuli (SV), and the endolymphatic compartment of scala media (SM). On the lateral wall of SM, there are the stria vascularis (StrV) and spiral ligament (SLig). On the bottom of SM, there are organ of Cortis that contains inner hair cells (IHCs) and outer hair cells (OHCs), tectorial membrane (TM), and spiral limbus (Slim). The spiral ganglion cells (SGCs) fire an action potential corresponding to the mechano-electrical transduction of the hair cells and supply all of the brain’s auditory input. The vestibular system is responsible for balance and is composed of three semicircular canals (SCC) and vestibule. The ampullary cupula within the SCC detect rotational accelerations and the macula within the saccule and utricule of the vestibule detect linear accelerations. CN cochlear nerve, SP spiral prominence, VN vestibular nerve, VS vas spiralis. (adapted from Zou J. Focal Drug Delivery in Inner Ear Therapy: in Focal Controlled Drug Delivery. Editors: Domb AJ and Khan W. Springer, London, UK. ISBN: 978-1-4614-9433-1, 2014; p215-224)

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