MIDDLE EAR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does middle ear mean? 

• MIDDLE EAR (noun)
  The noun MIDDLE EAR has 1 sense:

1. the main cavity of the ear; between the eardrum and the inner ear

  Familiarity information: MIDDLE EAR used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MIDDLE EAR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The main cavity of the ear; between the eardrum and the inner ear

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

middle ear; tympanic cavity; tympanum

Hypernyms ("middle ear" is a kind of...):

bodily cavity; cavity; cavum ((anatomy) a natural hollow or sinus within the body)

Meronyms (parts of "middle ear"):

bonelet; ossicle; ossiculum (a small bone; especially one in the middle ear)

auditory tube; Eustachian tube (either of the paired tubes connecting the middle ears to the nasopharynx; equalizes air pressure on the two sides of the eardrum)

hammer; malleus (the ossicle attached to the eardrum)

anvil; incus (the ossicle between the malleus and the stapes)

stapes; stirrup (the stirrup-shaped ossicle that transmits sound from the incus to the cochlea)

Holonyms ("middle ear" is a part of...):

auditory apparatus (all of the components of the organ of hearing including the outer and middle and inner ears)

 Context examples 

A tympanometry test result indicating the lack of movement of the tympanic membrane due to middle ear pathology.

(Flat Tympanometry Result, NCI Thesaurus)

It has motor and sensory functions that relate to the tongue, pharynx and middle ear.

(Glossopharyngeal Nerve, NCI Thesaurus)

A device that fits into the outer ear and delivers air pulses to the middle ear can help.

(Meniere's Disease, NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)

The middle ear leads to the inner ear.

(Middle Ear, NCI Thesaurus)

An oval, membrane covered opening from the tympanic cavity of the middle ear to the vestibule of the inner ear.

(Fenestra Ovalis, NCI Thesaurus)

A tube extending from the middle ear to the outer ear.

(External Canal, NCI Thesaurus)

A benign polypoid growth in the external or middle ear.

(Ear Polyp, NCI Thesaurus)

A tubular structure that runs from the middle ear to the nasopharynx and is approximately 3-4 cm length.

(Eustachian Tube, NCI Thesaurus)

A carcinoma that arises from the middle ear.

(Middle Ear Carcinoma, NCI Thesaurus)

An intraepithelial carcinoma of the middle ear without evidence of invasion.

(Middle Ear Carcinoma In Situ, NCI Thesaurus)