AUTHOR S ABSTRACT OF THIS PAPER ISSUED 

 BY THE BIBLIOGRAPHIC SERVICE, DECEMBER 6 



THE POSITION AND FUNCTIONAL INTERPRETATION 



OF THE ELASTIC LIGAMENTS IN THE 



MIDDLE-EAR REGION OF CALLUS 



A. G. POHLMAN 



Department of Anatomy, Saint Louis University 



TWELVE FIGURES 



HISTORICAL 



Little work has been • done on the appUed anatomy of the 

 middle-ear region in birds, and it was thought that a detailed 

 study of the structures and mechanics of this region might lead 

 to a better understanding of its function. The great difficulty 

 in determining the function of the middle ear in mammals comes 

 about through inability to find a suitable form in which the 

 definite relation of structure to function may be experimentally 

 established. 



It may be well to state that Denker's ('07) excellent mono- 

 graph on the inner-ear region of the parrot, undertaken with a 

 somewhat similar point in mind, was not productive of inter- 

 pretation because of the dissimilarity of the structures in birds 

 and mammals. However, this does not militate against a com- 

 parative consideration of the middle-ear mechanics, because 

 birds hear as acutely as or more acutely than mammals; the 

 sound transmitting apparatus is of more simple construction 

 and open to as little variation as the ossicular chain in mammals, 

 and, finally, because of the differences m this region in birds and 

 mammals, some conclusions may be attained bearing on the 

 variable factor which calls for muscular adjustment in both 

 forms. If one must go as far back as the amphibians for an 

 explanation of the ear-cough reflex and class it as a phylogenetic 

 reflex associated with the respiratory function of the middle 

 ear, it is probably safe to assume that the general functional, 



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