TYMPANUM (tympana)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: tympana   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does tympanum mean? 

• TYMPANUM (noun)
  The noun TYMPANUM has 3 senses:

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

2. the membrane in the ear that vibrates to sound

3. a large hemispherical brass or copper percussion instrument with a drumhead that can be tuned by adjusting the tension on it

  Familiarity information: TYMPANUM used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TYMPANUM (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 ("tympanum" is a kind of...):

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

Meronyms (parts of "tympanum"):

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 ("tympanum" is a part of...):

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

Sense 2

Meaning:

The membrane in the ear that vibrates to sound

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

eardrum; myringa; tympanic membrane; tympanum

Hypernyms ("tympanum" is a kind of...):

membrane; tissue layer (a pliable sheet of tissue that covers or lines or connects the organs or cells of animals or plants)

Meronyms (parts of "tympanum"):

umbo (a slight rounded elevation where the malleus attaches to the eardrum)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tympanum"):

perforated eardrum (an eardrum with a hole or tear in it; can interfere with normal hearing and cause other ear problems)

Holonyms ("tympanum" is a part of...):

ear (the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A large hemispherical brass or copper percussion instrument with a drumhead that can be tuned by adjusting the tension on it

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

kettle; kettledrum; timpani; tympani; tympanum

Hypernyms ("tympanum" is a kind of...):

percussion instrument; percussive instrument (a musical instrument in which the sound is produced by one object striking another)

Derivation:

timpanist; tympanist (a person who plays the kettledrums)

 Context examples 

The anterior aspect of the tympanum.

(Anterior Wall of the Tympanum, NCI Thesaurus)

Cholesteatoma of the middle ear, usually associated with chronic infection, and commonly affecting the tympanum, epitympanum, and antrum.

(Middle Ear Cholesteatoma, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)