Secondary tympanic membrane

Membrana tympanica secundaria

Definition

In the fresh state, the round window is closed by a membrane, the secondary tympanic membrane, which is concave toward the tympanic cavity, convex toward the cochlea and attached on the on the bony ridge of the round window by the crest of round window.

This membrane consists of three layers: an external, or mucous, derived from the mucous lining of the tympanic cavity; an internal, from the lining membrane of the cochlea; and an intermediate, or fibrous layer.

References

This definition incorporates text from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy (20th U.S. edition of Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, published in 1918 – from http://www.bartleby.com/107/).

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