Word: otolith
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Dates: during 1964-1964
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...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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