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| Oval window | |
|---|---|
 Middle ear, with oval window at right. | |
 Right osseous labyrinth. Lateral view (label isvestibular fenestra — black circle near center) | |
| Details | |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | fenestra vestibuli, fenestra ovalis |
| MeSH | D010046 |
| TA98 | A15.3.02.009 |
| TA2 | 6897 |
| FMA | 56913 |
| Anatomical terminology | |
Theoval window (orfenestra vestibuli orfenestra ovalis) is a connective tissue membrane-covered opening from themiddle ear to thecochlea of theinner ear.
Vibrations that contact thetympanic membrane travel through the threeossicles and into the inner ear. The oval window is the intersection of the middle ear with the inner ear and is directly contacted by thestapes; by the time vibrations reach the oval window, they have been reduced in amplitude and increased in pressure due to the lever action of the ossicle bones. This is not an amplification function; rather, an impedance-matching function, allowing sound to be transferred from air (outer ear) to liquid (cochlea).
It is a reniform (kidney-shaped) opening leading from the tympanic cavity into the vestibule of the inner ear; its long diameter is horizontal and its convex border is upward. It is occupied by the base of thestapes, the circumference of which is fixed by the annular ligament to the margin of theforamen.
This article incorporates text in thepublic domain frompage 1040 of the 20th edition ofGray's Anatomy(1918)
