part of part of contributes to morphology of ear middle ear MAT:0000146 MIAA:0000146 The middle ear is the air-filled cavity within the skull of vertebrates that lies between the outer ear and the inner ear. It is linked to the pharynx (and therefore to outside air) via the Eustachian tube and in mammals contains the three ear ossicles, which transmit auditory vibrations from the outer ear (via the tympanum) to the inner ear (via the oval window)[GO]. AAO:0011065 EHDAA:5693 EHDAA2:0001181 auris media Wikipedia:Middle_ear UBERON:0001756 EMAPA:17000 FMA:56513 NCIT:C12274 VHOG:0000312 BTO:0002099 The intermediate portion of the ear which consists of a small air-filled and membrane-lined chamber. It is lodged in the temporal bone and continues with the nasopharynx through the Eustachian tube. It is separated from the external ear by the tympanic membrane and from the inner ear by the fenestrae. [Dorian_AF, Elsevier's_encyclopaedic_dictionary_of_medicine, Part_B:_Anatomy_(1988)_Amsterdam_etc.:_Elsevier][VHOG] GAID:165 BIRNLEX:1695 SCTID:181185000 EV:0100357 UMLS:C0013455 XAO:0000191 MESH:D004432 The tympanic cavity and auditory tube of an amniote develop from the first embryonic pharyngeal pouch, so they are homologous to the first gill pouch, or spiracle, of a fish. We are uncertain whether this homology strictly applies to the middle ear cavity and auditory tube of lissamphibians, which show certain peculiarities in their development.[uncertain][VHOG] CALOHA:TS-2233 MA:0000253 UMLS:C1268972 multi organ part structure