Describe how sound waves are transmitted from the outer ear to the auditory nerve. What will be ...

ANSWER:
Sound waves enter the outer ear at the pinna, which collects and focuses sounds. Sounds collected by the pinna are then channeled through the auditory canal, which ends at the tympanic membrane, or eardrum, at the boundary between the outer and middle ear. The sound waves then reach three tiny bones in the middle ear known as ossicles. The ossicles amplify sound wave input by transferring sound energy from the air of the outer and middle ear to the fluid found in the inner ear via the oval window.

The inner ear contains a fluid filled cavity known as the cochlea, which contains specialized receptor cells that respond to vibrations transmitted to the inner ear. Vibrations transmitted by the bones of the middle ear to the oval window produce waves in the fluid of the vestibular canal of the cochlea that travel around the apex and back through its tympanic canal. As waves travel through the cochlea, the basilar membrane responds with its own wavelike motion. The movement of the basilar membrane causes the hair cells of the organ of Corti to move back and forth within the fluid of the cochlear duct. Bending the hair cells stimulates the release of neurotransmitters onto the cells of the auditory nerve.