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Home  »  Anatomy of the Human Body  »  pages 1040

Henry Gray (1825–1861). Anatomy of the Human Body. 1918.

pages 1040

of the membrane. Branched or dendritic fibers, as pointed out by Grüber, are also present especially in the posterior half of the membrane.

Vessels and Nerves.—The arteries of the tympanic membrane are derived from the deep auricular branch of the internal maxillary, which ramifies beneath the cutaneous stratum; and from the stylomastoid branch of the posterior auricular, and tympanic branch of the internal maxillary, which are distributed on the mucous surface. The superficial veins open into the external jugular; those on the deep surface drain partly into the transverse sinus and veins of the dura mater, and partly into a plexus on the auditory tube. The membrane receives its chief nerve supply from the auriculotemporal branch of the mandibular; the auricular branch of the vagus, and the tympanic branch of the glossopharyngeal also supply it. 1


FIG. 912– The right membrana tympani with the hammer and the chorda tympani, viewed from within, from behind, and from above. (Spalteholz.) (See enlarged image)
  The Labyrinthic or Medial Wall (paries labyrinthica; inner wall) (Fig. 913) is vertical in direction, and presents for examination the fenestræ vestibuli and cochleæ, the promontory, and the prominence of the facial canal.
  The fenestra vestibuli (fenestra ovalis) is a reniform opening leading from the tympanic cavity into the vestibule of the internal ear; its long diameter is horizontal, and its convex border is upward. In the recent state it is occupied by the base of the stapes, the circumference of which is fixed by the annular ligament to the margin of the foramen.
  The fenestra cochleæ (fenestra rotunda) is situated below and a little behind the fenestra vestibuli, from which it is separated by a rounded elevation, the promontory. It is placed at the bottom of a funnel-shaped depression and, in the macerated bone, leads into the cochlea of the internal ear; in the fresh state it is closed by a membrane, the secondary tympanic membrane, which is concave toward the tympanic cavity, convex toward the cochlea. This membrane consists of three layers: an