Word: otolith
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Doctors still don't know what causes vestibular dysfunction or why it is so common. The vestibular system in the inner ear is made up of three semicircular canals and two otolith organs that continuously send messages to the brain about the head's rotation and motion as well as its orientation relative to gravity. Humans keep their balance using the vestibular system's signals, along with visual cues and touch sensations. When the inner-ear signaling process is disrupted, it directly affects a person's ability to maintain equilibrium...
...Latin for a little womb) and the saccule (a little bag). These contain a gelatinous material in which are suspended crystals of a chalky substance composed mainly of calcium carbonate, no bigger than grains of fine sand. In the space age, physiologists are learning much more about these otoliths (ear stones), which respond to forces of gravity or acceleration. Now otolith mechanisms are known to have an im portant function. The semicircular canals tell the brain when a man's position or posture is changing because of a turning motion. But it is the utricle that responds to acceleration...
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