The Labyrinth

According to Greek mythology there was in Crete a Labyrinth designed and built by a legendary architect, Daedalus, for King Minos. Its structure was so complex that not even Daedalus succeeded in escaping from it.

When the old anatomists began to study the temporal bones, they found it so complex that they called it “a labyrinth.” They knew that part of it was auditory, the other part, the vestibular system, remained a mystery for many centuries.

The reason is simple. The vestibular sensors record accelerations, and accelerations were not known until Newton discovered gravity in 1687.

It was only in 1830 that the function of the vestibular receptors was thoroughly studied by a French neurophysiologist, Jean Pierre Flourens. And only in 1861 Prosper Menière postulated that the sensation of vertigo was caused by a labyrinthine disease.

Today everyone that has an episode of vertigo tell us that he has a labyrinthitis. In fact, what they have is one of the many kinds of disorders of the labyrinth.

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