Tympanic cavity walls (Latin)

Sagittal section of the auris media viewed from a medial perspective. The cavitas tympani has two main parts: the cavitas tympani propria and the recessus epitympanicus. The cavitas tympani propria is located medially to the membrana tympani, while the recessus epitympanicus lies above the level of the membrana tympani, next to the cellulae mastoidae. The tympanic cavity is shaped like a cube, containing 6 walls: paries membranaceus, paries tegmentalis, paries jugularis, paries mastoideus, paries labyrinthicus and paries caroticus, with the latter 2 not shown in this section. The paries membranaceus (lateralis) is formed by the membrana tympani and the pars squamosa ossis temporalis. The paries labyrinthicus (medialis) separates the cavitas tympani from the labyrinthus. The paries tegmentalis (roof) is a thin plate of bone that separates the cavitas tympani from the cavitas cranii, while the paries jugularis (floor) separates it from the v. jugularis and the a. carotis interna below. The paries caroticus (anterior) corresponds to the canalis caroticus and contains the ostium tympanicum tubae auditivae, while the paries mastoideum (posterior) partly separates the cavitas tympani from the antrum mastoideum.