How the Body Works :The Organs of Balance

The Organs of Balance

The organs of balance which influence the action of the cerebellum, are located in the inner ear adjacent to the organs of hearing. The position of the three semicircular canals and the saccule, the utricle and the endolymphatic duct are shown in relation to other structures in the inner ear. A cross section of the semicircular canals, which consist of three tubes, are positioned at right angles to each other in different planes. They are filled with a fluid known as endolymph. In the base of each semicircular canal are hairlike receptors. Any movement of the head causes the fluid within the canals to move and so stimulate the receptors to send information to the brain about the direction of the particular movement that has occurred. The utricle and saccule contain receptor cells with tiny stones of calcium carbonate-otoliths. The otoliths are relatively mobile and movement of the head causes them to move. This changes the pressure that they exert on the receptors, which then send information about the direction of the head's movement to the brain, and illustrate the three planes of movement in which the head and body can move to stimulate the receptors in the semicircular canals.

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[soulriver888]

Alcohol changes the viscosity of the endolymphatic fluid.

[katiecutie153]

my a&p instructor said that when you spin around the fluid surrounding the cerebellum is trying to stay in the same place, much like if you were to have a pan full of water and walk forward quickly the water stays in place and tends to spill toward you..something like that

[icmuh]

i have a question ..why we speed around ourself we lose balance????

[Jasmine171819]

@katiecutie153 that's right! Inertia causes the fluid to lag behind the spinning motion, which pulls on the hair cells, causing action potentials -- that's how we detect rotation

[ObrienHouseProd]

queef nuggets

[missLP777]

this was useful

thanks

[medicappharmacy]

Nicely presented!

[TheRooverCopperfield]

poop balls

[sanconstantine]

@garycalgary hi please tell me how u can control it becase i got too and i dont know how cure my vertigo please thank u

[EMILYHERRERA]

Thank you for making this!

[zoeee278]

when you spin around lots of times the endolymph (the fluid that circulates in the cochlear and detects movement) slushes around...its like putting water in a bottle and shaking up and and down and turning it on its side, it takes a while for the water to stop moving around inside the bottle, which is exactly what occurs in the ear :) haha hope that shed some light on the subject.