sexta-feira, 7 de junho de 2013

The Ear - Balance and Coordination

Three very important structures -- the semicircular canal, utricle, and saccule-- found at the inner ear are responsible for our balance.
The semicircular canal is responsible to detect body and head rotation (rotational equilibrium). For such a task, these structures are filled with liquid and bulge. Each bulge is filled with stereiocilia. When the head or the body rotates, the fluid inside the semicircular canals move and bends the stereocilia, causing the hair cells to send rotational information to the brain.
Utricle and Saccule, which together make up the fluid-filled vestibule. These structures are responsible for the balance required while moving the head forward and backward. These structures are filled with calcium carbonate granules, called  otoliths. When the head move up or down, the gravitation brings down the otoliths which will make the stereocilias to bend.
Proprioceptors are another type of mechanoreceptor involved in coordination. They are found in our muscles and joints throughout our body, and they send information of our position to the brain. That is why we can dress in the dark.

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