Ear

 

 

External, middle, internal ear: one of two organs of hearing on the sides of the head, comprised of internal and external parts.
External ear: visible part of the ear.
Auricle: outer part of the external ear.
External auditory meatus: canal of the temporal bone that carries sounds to the eardrum.
Eardrum: membrane of the external ear that transmits air vibrations to the middle ear.
Internal ear: deepest part of the ear.
Semi-circular canans: crescent-shaped tubes.
External: semicircular tube closest to the external ear.
Posterior: middle semicircular tube.
Anterior: semicircular tube deepest in the ear.
Vestibuli: cavity of the internal ear.
Cochlea: part of the internal ear that converts sound vibrations to nerve impulses.
Auridory nerve: nerve related to hearing.
Eustachian tube: canal that allows equalization of air pressure on both sides of the eardrum.
Middle ear: part of the ear between the internal and external ears.
Stapes (stirrup): ossicle of the middle ear connected to the incus.
Incus (anvil): middle ossicle of the middle ear.
Malleus (hammer): first ossicle of the middle ear.
External acoustic meatus: canal of the temporal bone that carries sounds to the eardrum.

 

Your ears are amazing. The inner ear can detect your position of the body in relation to the original pull of gravity on the body and can tell you when it is different and when it comes back to normal. If you do a dive off of a diving board, you will unknowingly realize when you are upside right or inverted to any degree other than upright. The reason is there are patches of hair cells which are attached to thousands of tiny spheres of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and these are pulled downward by gravity and the brain gets notified of any changes such as a nod of the head or any other disorientation and your body reacts to this change therefore equilibrium can be maintained.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_your_ears_help_you_maintain_your_balance#page4