tympanic membrane

American  

noun

Anatomy, Zoology.

1. eardrum.

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tympanic membrane British  

noun

1. Also called: tympanum.  Nontechnical name: eardrum.  the thin translucent oval membrane separating the external ear from the middle ear. It transmits vibrations produced by sound waves, via the ossicles, to the cochlea

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tympanic membrane Scientific  

/ tĭm-păn′ĭk /

1. See eardrum

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Etymology

Origin of tympanic membrane

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

"The ear drum, or tympanic membrane, is a thin, flat piece of tissue that stretches across the ear canal," said Hoberman.

From Science Daily • Mar. 4, 2024

Presley, R. Lizards, mammals and the primitive tetrapod tympanic membrane.

From Nature • Nov. 12, 2017

When a microphone was placed in its ear, everyone could hear a ringing tone—the result, it turned out, of an oversensitive tympanic membrane.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 30, 2015

Hearing in early amphibians developed from adapting the spiracles to become the tympanic membrane for transmitting sound to the brain through the stapes, one of our tiny inner ear bones.

From Slate • Jan. 27, 2014

Waves of sound reach the ear, and are directed by the concha to the external passage, at the end of which they reach the tympanic membrane.

From A Practical Physiology by Blaisdell, Albert F.