Abstract
In this chapter, we describe the anatomy of the peripheral vestibular system and its importance to vestibular physiology. The peripheral vestibular system is an intricate organ that provides awareness of the spatial position of our head and body (proprioception) and self-motion (kinesthesia). It is composed of central and peripheral portions. The peripheral portion of the vestibular system consists of the vestibular labyrinth, the vestibular ganglion, and the vestibulocochlear nerve. The vestibular labyrinth, housed within the posterior aspect of the otic capsule, includes the semicircular canals, which contain the cells that detect angular acceleration of the head, and the utricle and saccule, which contain the neurosensory epithelium that detects the linear acceleration of the head and position of the head in space (spatial orientation).
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da Costa Monsanto, R., Pauna, H.F., Cureoglu, S. (2023). The Anatomy of the Vestibular System. In: Crane, B.T., Lustig, L., de Souza, C. (eds) Disorders of the Vestibular System. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40524-2_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40524-2_1
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