TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Chapter 44. Anatomy & Physiology of the Ear A1 - Oghalai, John S. A1 - Brownell, William E. A2 - Lalwani, Anil K. PY - 2012 T2 - CURRENT Diagnosis & Treatment in Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery, 3e AB - Mechanical events resulting from sound, gravitational forces, and rotational acceleration are detected by the cochlea and vestibular organs within the inner ear. Sound is a mechanical vibration (eg, as produced by a vibrating piano string). This vibration sets up small oscillations of air molecules that, in turn, cause adjacent molecules to oscillate as the sound propagates away from its source. Sound is called a pressure wave because when the molecules of air come closer, the pressure increases (compression); as they move further apart, the pressure decreases (rarefaction). SN - PB - The McGraw-Hill Companies CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/04/19 UR - accesssurgery.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=55770441 ER -