Desenho mostrando como a onda sonora no meato acústico é transferida para os fluidos do ouvido interno e para Membrana Basilar
The sound wave moves the eardrum and attached ossicular chain. The stapes foot plate, through the oval window, transfers the vibration to the perilymphatic compartment (scala vestibuli) and to the inner ear structures. Depending on the frequency, the vibration has a maximum effect (resonance) at a different point along the basilar membrane, accounting for a passive tonotopy. Here, on the left, a high frequency sound affects a basal portion of the cochlea.