Question

You are riding a bicycle and take a sudden turn around a sharp corner. The organ involved in the maintenance of balance is

• A. Semicircular canals
• B. Medulla oblongata
• C. Optic chiasm
• D. Cerebrum

Answer 1

Answer: (A)

Semicircular canals are three tiny, fluid-filled tubes in our inner ear that helps us to keep our balance. When our head moves around, the liquid inside the semicircular canals sloshes around and moves the tiny hairs that line each canal.

Angular acceleration (e.g., rapid turning) of a person in any direction produces currents of fluid (endolymph) along the corresponding canal, which are detected by the fine projections from Sensory cells and communicated to the brain via the auditory nerve.