XXXI. 



Sometbins IRew about tbe iat 



IF one were asked to select any portion of man's 

 wonderful frame which is more wondrous and more 

 complex than another, I should advise the candidate 

 for honours in elementary anatomy to choose the ear. 

 For, unquestionably, the ear is more complex than the 

 eye probably more intricate, indeed, than any other 

 of our sense-organs. To begin with, there is the 

 outer ear, which is in itself worth some study, as 

 Darwin has shown us, in respect of its conformation. 

 The passage or canal of the ear" (fig. 33, 2) passes 

 inwards, and is blocked, like a cul de sac, by the drum- 

 membrane or tympanum. This membrane receives the 

 waves of sound and transmits these vibrations to the 

 internal ear, which is enclosed within the temporal 

 bone. Now, it is this internal ear which is of such 

 marvellous structure and of such intricacy. Let us 

 try to think of its various parts for a moment or two. 

 On the inner side of the " drum " (fig. 33, 2') a tube 

 (called the " Eustachian tube" (fig. 33, 4), after an 

 old anatomist) leads into the throat. This arrange- 

 ment evidently serves to ensure equality of air pressure 

 on each side of the drum, whatever else may be its use. 

 Between the brain and the drum is a bony partition, 

 bearing two apertures. One of these is oval in shape, 



