The following page is intended to help clarify what is meant by the widely used description of fluid in the ears with regard to middle ear disease. This figure shows a schematic of a section through the head, showing the main components of the ear. The ear canal, as far down as the ear drum, makes up the outer ear. The middle ear is the cavity behind the ear drum which contains the middle ear bones. The inner ear includes the blue coiled structure, the cochlea, which is the subject of our research. This figure shows a more schematized version of the above illustration. The color white indicates the air-filled spaces.