The Reason Why / A Careful Collection of Many Hundreds of Reasons for Things Which, Though Generally Believed, Are Imperfectly Understood

by Robert Kemp Philp

---

987. Why is wax secreted at the entrance of the ear?

Because, by the peculiar resinous property which it possesses, it improves the sound-conducting power of the auditory canal through which it prevails.

Fig. 65.—THE STRUCTURE OF THE EAR.

A A. Glands which secrete wax in the walls of the tube of the ear.

B. The membrane of the tympanum, or drum of the ear, formed in the shape of a funnel.

C C. Bones which act as a sort of sounding-board to the ear, giving strength to the vibrations.

D. The Eustachian tube, which opens into the root of the mouth, and which serves to preserve an equilibrium in the density of the air occupying the tubes of the ear.