Deluxe Eight-Part Ear

Made of unbreakable vinyl, this 5 times life-size model provides a complete perspective of the middle and inner ear structures within the temporal bone.  All of the skin has been peeled off the detachable auricle to expose its cartilage structure, muscles, auricular arteries and nerves, as well as the entrance to the auditory canal.  Sections of the petrous and mastoid portions of the temporal bone can be lifted off to expose the middle and inner ear chambers.  The tympanic ring with its see-through tympanic membrane and attached ossicles can also be lifted out.

The extractable labyrinth is dissectible into three portions.  Half of it, consisting of the semicircular canals and vestibule, demonstrates the sense of balance.  Transparent tubing with colored liquid represents two of the semicircular canals.  An air bubble in each will move when tipped, demonstrating the canals' function in equilibrium.  The other half of the labyrinth, upon removal, shows the vestibular and cochlear nerves, which join to form the auditory nerve.  The cochlea itself separates into halves to reveal cochlear, vestibular and tympanic ducts and the branching of the cochlear nerve. 

Deluxe Eight-Part Ear