Vestibular System

it is the main peripheral component of the vestibular system is an elaborate set of interconnected chambers and is continious with the coclea buried deep in the temporal bone and consists of two otolith organs (utricle, saccule) and three semicircular canals

endolymph and is similar to intracellular solutions in that it is high in K and low in Na
betweeen the boney wall (osseous labyrith) and the membranous labyrinth is another fluid perilymph which is similar in composition to cerebrospinal fluid low in K and high in Na

in the utricle, saccule, and three juglike swellings called the ampullae located at the base of the semicircular canal

a true ciliary structure which along with the stereocilia comprises of hair bundle of vesibular and fetal cochlear heair cells in mammals

referring to the internal ear comprises of the cochlea vestibular apparatus and the bony canals in which these structures are housed

it is called macula
and it consist of hair cells and associated supporting cells overlying the hair cells and their sterocilia is a ghelatinous layer above this layer is a fibrous structure the otolith organs their name otolith is greek for ear stones

otoconia (calcium carbonate crystals)

the actin rich processes that along with the kinocilium form the hair bundle extending from the apical surface of the hair cell site of mechanotransduction

A line found in both the sacculus and utricle that divides the hair cells into two populations with opposing hair bundles polarities

oreinted vertically and responds to movements in the vertical plane up - down and forward backward movemtns in the sagittal plane

responds to movements in the horizontal plane with movements of the head such as sideways head tilts and rapid lateral displacements

sense head rotations from either self induced movements or from angular accelerations of the head imparted by external forces

the juglike swellings at the base of the semicircular canals that contain the hair cells and capulae

the hair cell containing sensory epithelieum of the semi circular canals

Gelatinous structures in the semicircular canals in which the hair cell bundles are embedded

unlike the saccular and utricular all of the hair cells in the crista within each semicircular canal are organized with their kinocilia pointing in the same direction