No single slide can contain ideal sections of all the structures you will be examining, because the semicircular canals and parts of the vestibule are mostly located superior to the cochlea. We suggest that you work together and share slides with your laboratory partners. Your instructors will also have extra slides that you can borrow. First, examine the slide with a low magnification slide viewer or the lowest magnification on your microscope. Middle ear - Portions of the auditory ossicles.
Many sections show the footplate of the stapes in the oval window.
You may also see portions of the tensor tympani muscle or its tendon which inserts into the malleus. On some sections the stapedius muscle is present. Most sections also show the opening of the Eustachian tube into the middle ear cavity. Inner ear - Recall that the bony labyrinth of the inner ear consists of continuous bony canals and cavities, within which lies an equally complicated duct, the membranous labyrinth. This space is filled with perilymph, wich is often stained pink in these sections.